


Dursley's Daughter

by writerer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter Next Generation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-05-17 01:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 65,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5848633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerer/pseuds/writerer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an interview, JK Rowling once said that she thought about writing Dudley Dursley into the Epilogue with a magical child. What if she had? This is the story of Dudley's daughter, Esther.</p><p>Entering her sixth year at Hogwarts, Esther is becoming sick of stereotypes. Sorted into Hufflepuff as a first year, she feels destined to be only loyal and diligent: qualities of a sidekick, not a leader.  And it's her last name, Dursley, that causes the uncomfortable disconnect between her and the Potter-Weasleys without them getting to know each other at all. But as she slowly befriends the Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy and captains her house's Quidditch team, Esther has the chance to prove to Hogwarts that not only is there more substance to Hufflepuffs than meets the eye, but that all stereotypes - of houses and last names - can, and should, be crushed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Updates every weekend.
> 
> I've already posted this whole story and part of the sequel to Wattpad (same username) but I've been meaning to check out this website for a while so its going here, too. Yeah, I know, I'm super thirsty for reads.

I was eleven years old when my Hogwarts letter arrived.

It came on my birthday, carried by a huge tawny owl. Having never seen anything like it outside of a zoo or a film, I was incredibly surprised when it swooped out of the sky. It flew over the garden, where it nearly knocked over my mother, and in through the open back door to where I sat at the kitchen table opening the last of my presents.

When Dad saw the owl he just about had an aneurysm.

"Sarah?" he said, calling to my mother. She came rushing in, in gardening gloves with a trowel in her hand. He pointed to the owl and my mother paled.

I wasn't paying attention to either of them. The owl was staring at me with it's two huge, intelligent eyes. As my parents continued their worried conversation, it stuck it's leg out towards me. An envelope was tied to it's leg.

I undid the string and examined the envelope. It was addressed to me.

My parents fell silent as they watched me carefully rip open the envelope, pull out the thick paper inside, and unfolded it carefully.

**_HOGWARTS SCHOOL_ **

**_of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_ **

**_Dear Ms. Dursley,_ **

**_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted_ **

**_at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed_ **

**_a list of all necessary books and equipment._ **

**_Term begins on September 1. As you are a muggle born witch,_ **

**_please expect a visit to your home on August 12. All questions regarding_ **

**_the school and purchasing books shall be answered then. The Headmistress_ **

**_enjoys her tea with milk and one sugar, if you do not mind._ **

**_Yours sincerely,_ **

**_Filius Flitwick_ **

**_Deputy Headmaster_ **

I read it to myself once or twice, not quite understanding the implications of the letter. Then I read it out loud for my parents, who listened with bated breath. When I had finished, I folded the letter again and placed it on the table, where my parents regarded it like it was going to blow up at any moment.

"What's Hogwarts?" I asked.

My father took several moments to collect himself, his face finally losing a bit of the redness it had gathered from shock. "Esther, your mother and I have been worrying that a thing like this was going to happen to you."

Worrying? I opened the letter once again and scanned through it. Nothing in it seemed bad. In fact, it sounded wonderful. I was accepted into a magic school where they used strange words like 'muggle' and sent letters using owls. They still drank tea, apparently, which was reassuring. I didn't want to have to get used to strange wizard food.

"You've met my cousin, Harry," said my dad.

I was didn't understand what the owl sitting in our kitchen had to do with the relatives I saw maybe once every year, but I nodded.

"Harry's parents died when he was young and he grew up in the same house as I did, with your grandparents," said Dad.

"How come there are no pictures of him then? Grandma has loads of you and loads of me," I said. "She tells me stories about you when you were my age whenever we go round there, but I've never heard of Harry."

"That's because Harry went to Hogwarts," Dad explained. "My parents didn't want anything to do with magic. They were perfectly happy being regular people."

"So they completely cut Harry from their lives?"

"Well, yes," Dad said.

I blinked. "Am I going to go to the wizard school?" I asked. When Mum and Dad hesitated, I continued, saying, "It sounds much better than the Young Ladies Preparatory you're sending me to in September. Can't I go learn magic instead?"

My parents exchanged a look. "I don't know," Mum said finally.

"But I've been accepted. The Headmistress is going to visit and everything. Can't we wait until then and ask lots of questions before making a decision?"

My parents were difficult sometimes, but I knew how to deal with them. You had to make it seem like they were the ones in charge but really you were the one controlling the decisions. I knew they would accept and let the mysterious witch answer lots of questions. I knew I would only grow attached to the idea of going to Hogwarts, but I also got the feeling that this Headmistress would argue with my parents until they let me go.

The letter from Hogwarts was by far the best birthday present I got that year. Oh, who am I kidding. It was the best birthday gift I had gotten ever. After feeling like I could be doing a lot more with my life for years, I had been given a way to do just that. By learning magic.

I had always been one to believe in magic and the surreal, but it felt strange to have that stuff confirmed for me. Over the next few weeks until August 12, I wondered what kind of things they would teach at the wizarding school. Would there be mixing strange concoctions in big, black cauldrons, and flying on broomsticks? Would there be black cats roaming the halls and summoning the dead? Would I learn to cast spells and be able to jinx all the mean kids at school? I had always been curious and now eleven year old me was bouncing off the walls with excitement.

Professor McGonagall was a thin woman with all her silvery hair pulled sharply back into a knot on the top of her head. She wore black robes and spectacles and looked quite intimidating but as soon as she arrived she smiled and winked at me. I knew then that everything was going to work out fine.

My parents asked so many ridiculous questions that it was embarrassing. How many meals a day do the students get? We don't want you starving our daughter. What methods of punishment are used? If they're too harsh and inhumane, our daughter will not be attending your awful school. How much do books cost? Can you explain that monetary system one more time?

My questions were more interesting, or so I thought. Half the time I couldn't get a word in edge wise, but when I did McGonagall was able to explain the really interesting stuff. The school taught a variety of subjects, including Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I would room with four other girls in my age, the ones sorted into my house with me. The houses, named after the four founders of Hogwarts, were Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

"And, yes, there are broomsticks," the Headmistress said. "We have a inter-house Quidditch Cup each year. Your father may be familiar with that name, his cousin was a star player on the Gryffindor team when he was at school." She smiled fondly at the memory.

"Do you think I can play Quidditch?" I asked. "I haven't ever ridden a broomstick before. Is it like riding on a bicycle?"

"Quidditch is not open to first year students, but you will take flying lessons this year. There are try outs held by the team captains for anybody interested in a position on the team. Picks are generally made based on talent, not on magical background."

My father put a hand on my shoulder before I could ask what they served for breakfast at Hogwarts. "Now, Esther, I think you should leave the adults to discuss this alone for a while."

McGonagall pulled a book out of her robes and handed it to me. "This is about the history of our school and will most likely answer many of your questions. I like to give it to muggle born wizards and witches so they have a bit more background before entering the school."

"Thank you," I said. Then I ran to my room to read Hogwarts: A History.

I didn't just read the book once. I read it hundreds of times. I flipped through the pages for the rest of the summer, in every free moment. I marveled at the moving photographs, studied the detailed maps of the castle, read up on each of the four houses. I didn't know which one I was going to be sorted in to, but Slytherin didn't sound too pleasant based on its past. The rest of the summer passed by too slowly for my liking and each morning I crossed off a day on the calendar. I didn't have many friends from school but instead spent my time trying to learn everything I could about magic.

Summer, which used to go by so fast, dragged along. But before I knew it, I was heading into London for the day with my parents, to purchase my Hogwarts books and then catch the Hogwarts Express. The Headmistress had talked my parents into it after all.

Diagon Alley was the first time I ever experienced other magicians, other than McGonagall, of course. I was completely in awe with everything I saw. I got my wand from a nice old witch in a shop full of thousands of boxes, my books from the most amazing book store I had ever been in, and ink and real quills and parchment for writing. I was looking forward to classes and getting homework for the first time in my life, because I wouldn't be learning boring maths or uninteresting English grammar.

While I wandered around, taking in the broomsticks, the sweet shops, the amazing toys the wizard children were playing with, my parents lagged behind, glaring at everything around them like they were much better than it all. I didn't doubt that that was exactly what they thought, but I tried not to let it get me down.

Sure, my parents were hard to like sometimes, but the hardest people to love are the ones worth loving. At least that's what I keep telling myself, especially at times like that when it's a particularly grueling job.

"These are the most wonderful clothes I have ever owned," I cried, emerging from the robe shop with Mum in tow. Dad had been waiting outside. I held one of my new robes up for him to admire and he frowned.

"They're not very fashionable," Mum said. "Why can't magic students wear normal clothes?"

"We can wear whatever we want, when we don't have classes," I said, plopping my new pointy witch hat on top of my head. I studied my reflection in the shop windows as we passed. Could I pass as a regular, pureblooded witch? "Weren't you listening to Professor McGonagall at all?"

I had never been so excited in my life. That day, I dragged my parents into every single shop on the entire street. We crowded around racing brooms with wizards and had tea at a strange little pub. I pulled them into the potions store, where creepy bottles lined the shelves and I even spotted eyeballs bobbing around in a strange liquid towards the back. Finally, I took my Dad by the hand and pulled him into the animal store. Every inch was taken by an animal crate. Owls flapped around in their cages, cats meowed, frogs hopped, the snakes sat languidly, their tongues darting in and out of their mouths.

"Can I have an owl? Please, please, please?" I begged my father, reaching in to a cage and getting my finger pecked by one. It didn't dampen my spirits. Until that day in my life, owls had been things you saw locked up in cages at the zoo or read about in books. Now they are a common, every day thing, but I still love them. "With an owl, I can send you parcels and letters all the time from school!"

"They're conspicuous creatures where we live, you know that, Esther," said Mum, wrinkling her nose. "I'm sure they carry all sorts of vermin, too." She was always on about dust and germs, vermin and bacteria.

Mum and Dad did relent eventually, though, as I wouldn't leave the shop. I bargained that they wouldn't have to buy me another Christmas or birthday present for years and they finally gave in. No owl, though. They bought me a beautiful calico kitten and a box of food for her. I cradled her in one arm, my other hand holding a cauldron full of books. It was late by that point and my parents were able to lead me, exhausted, back to our normal, muggle hotel room.

The next morning my parents had reluctantly brought me to Kings Cross Station and came through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4 with me. The sights there were even more amazing. I didn't think I would ever be able to get used to all the chaos that seemed to go on in the wizarding world. I certainly hoped that I would never stop being so surprised and amazed by it all, because life at home was predictable and boring.

It was halfway down the platform, when I was about to get on, that Dad spotted his cousin, Harry.

He had kids of his own and was talking to one of them, a dark haired boy just like him. The kid looked about my age. There were other people around them, including a lot of redheads. They were all saying goodbye and loading up onto the train as well. When Harry stood and turned, I saw the infamous scar on his forehead, the one given to him by Lord Voldemort.

Dad and Harry locked eyes.

Harry said something to the redheaded woman standing next to him, patted his son on the back, and came over. I held my breath and I'm pretty sure one of my parents was about to explode.

Dad held out his hand. "Harry," he said.

Harry took it and they shook hands. "Dudley." There was an awkward pause until Harry looked down at me. "Esther is a witch."

"Yes. She's is starting her first year at Hogwarts today," said Dad.

"She'll be in the same year as Albus, then, and his cousin Rose."

I didn't know what to say, so I nodded. I stole a glance at the children gathered, the ones Harry was his. The dark haired boy he had been talking to I figured was Albus, and the older of the two redheaded girls must be Rose. Would they accept me and be my friends despite the differences in our fathers' pasts? I hoped so, because suddenly I was feeling very nervous about making new friends.

"The train is going to leave soon, Esther," said Harry. The edge that was in his voice when he spoke to my father wasn't present when he talked to me. "Would you like to go aboard the train with Albus and Rose? They're nervous about starting Hogwarts as well."

I nodded and, taking ahold of my cat's cage, followed Harry Potter back to the group. My parents followed behind me, obviously out of place among the colorful wizards and witches.

"Ginny, this is my cousin Dudley and his wife, Sarah. You probably remember them," said Harry. "Esther, this is Albus, whom you have met before, and Rose."

I waved hello to the two kids nervously and they said hello back. We all stood there woodenly for a moment until the train whistle blew. Rose and Albus scurried to say goodbye to their parents and siblings, getting many hugs and kisses each. I hugged my Mum and Dad patted me on the back.

"We'll see you for Christmas break, Esther," said Dad.

"Goodbye, darling," said Mum.

I climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express after Rose and Albus and followed them into a compartment. They moved immediately to the window, calling out to their families as we pulled out of the station. Albus's younger sister and a little boy chased the train as it picked up speed.

I found a spot at the window and waved, too, but my parents stood their stoically on the platform, not saying goodbye.

My new kitten made a small noise from inside it's crate, which I held in my arms. I took a deep breath and turned away from the window, the station giving way to the English countryside. I was in a better place now. I would make Hogwarts my home.

And, over the next five years, I did. 


	2. September First

I hugged my normal, ordinary parents like every other normal, ordinary teenage girl at Kings Cross Station in London was doing that morning.

"We'll see you for Christmas break, sweetheart," said Mum, kissing me for about the thousandth time in the past hour. It wasn't even the first time I had left, which was the annoying part. I was almost of age now and was perfectly capable of getting to school by myself, thank you very much.

"Yes, Mum. I'll write to you whenever I get the time," I said, pushing my luck. "I can send you chocolate frogs all year long instead of just bringing them home with me at Christmas!"

"Oh, no you will not," said Dad. "You know how the neighbors react when they see those owls flying all over the place. We will send letters to you."

"But, Dad -"

My father shook his head. "What if your grandfather is over for supper again like the last time one of those damn owls flew through the window? He and your grandmother are already suspicious of this boarding school we send you to."

"Would it be so bad if they knew I was like Harry? They do love me and care for me. Why wouldn't they still do so knowing I'm magical?"

Mum took my hand and squeezed it. "It's not that they wouldn't love you, Esther, it's that they would find it a hard fact to accept. We accept you and that's just enough."

I sighed and Dad handed me my animal crate. Though my kitten, Duchess, had been my companion to Hogwarts for the first two years, I had since talked my parents into investing in an owl. Out of my two parents, my mother had grown to accept me the most, and had been instrumental in convincing my dad that getting me Pavo was a good idea. "Have a good term, Esther. No letters, remember."

I put Pavo's cage on top of my trunk and wheeled my cart a few feet away before turning around again. "Are you not going to come on to the platform? You haven't even met Sawyer or Holly yet and they're dying to meet you, Dad! And I'm just about the only student who doesn't get to lean out of the train windows and wave goodbye."

Each of my parents gave me one last hug. "Have a good term, sweetheart," said Mum. Then she and Dad waved a final time and turned to go back into their normal car, in which they would drive back to their normal lives, pretending their daughter was a normal girl on the way to a normal boarding school.

Fine. I didn't need them. Esther Marge Dursley could cope by herself, thank you very much. I was a mature, independent witch. I could deal without contacting my parents for several months.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt, though. My parents were tough cookies sometimes, but I loved them all the same. Of course I did. They were my parents, and all they wanted was the best for me, even if they didn't know what the best for me was. 

I grabbed ahold of my trolley, Pavo's crate balancing precariously on top of my trunk along with my broomstick. Besides for that part, I should have looked just like every other girl heading off to boarding school. Angrily, I pushed it across the station, spotting a few others with owls and broomsticks heading the same way. Instead of sitting around reading magazines or texting friends while waiting for my train to arrive, like normal girls were doing, I made sure nobody was looking and walked straight through the column between platforms nine and ten.

Emerging on the other side, I opened my eyes again. Even though I'd done it many times since discovering I was a witch, I had never gotten used to getting on to Platform 9 3/4. The big, red train sat to my left, student's heads poking out of the windows even though there was ten minutes until departure.

Something exploded to my right, jolting me out of my thoughts. A kid soared by on a broomstick, coughing as he flew through the smoke from the miniature explosion and pulling the hair of his friends as he passed them. His parents rushed around, trying to get him down to find a spot on the train. Everyone around me wore brightly colored robes with sometimes eccentric accessories. A woman nearby wore a pointy hat that changed patterns and colors. Now it was an ugly checker pattern, a moment before it had been stripy. Meowing and hooting was interspersed in the conversation. Someone's owl got loose and screeched, flying up towards the clouds.

I took a deep breath and smiled. I was back where I belonged. With wizards and magic and insane things happening wherever you looked.

I forced my way through the crowd, joining a current of other trolleys heading towards the back of the train. I waved to people I knew and watched a couple of the nervous first years saying goodbye to their parents. Had I been that small when I first started at Hogwarts? I had definitely been terrified.

"Esther!"

Before I could locate the person calling my name, I had been tackled from both sides in a giant hug. Laughing, I managed to disentangle myself from my friends. Holly's hair had only grown curlier over the summer. Obviously the magic hair products she had gone on about the previous June had not helped at all. Then there was Sawyer, looking tan from a vacation spent traveling with his dads.

"New broom, Essie?" he asked, snatching it off my cart before I could slap his hand away. "Sweet, the newest model, especially created for the agility required by a Quidditch keeper." He tossed it back and forth from hand to hand until I took it from him. Sawyer wasn't exactly the person you wanted handling your expensive things. He tended to break them. "I thought your parents didn't like going to Diagon Alley," he said.

"It's not that they don't like it, it's that they hate it. I ordered it," I replied. "It was a gift for getting good O.W.L. results, though I had to explain the grading system to my parents for the billionth time. That P stands for Perfect, right, Esther? No Dad, P is for Poor. I did tell you I failed Divination."

"Glad I wasn't alone on that one, my parents were miffed," said Holly, who until now had been saying hello to Pavo. "That's the only class I didn't get an O.W.L in. I don't think anyone could've possibly done well, the whole course is basically just made up nonsense."

"Let's see it then," said Sawyer to me. 

"See what?" I asked, although I knew the answer very well. "My O.W.L. results?"

"No, your shiny new badge. I'm surprised you haven't put it on yet, considering how much you went on about it in your letters."

Just because my parents put a block on all communication to other magic folk didn't mean I obliged by their rules. Plus, there's a nice witch who lives down the street with an owl and she lets me borrow it every once in a while. 

I stuck my hand into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out my Quidditch captain badge. Teddy Lupin of the Hufflepuff team had left Hogwarts several years before I started my first year and he was the last good captain our house had. The first year I played Quidditch we probably won a single game, and only because the Ravenclaw keeper was out of commission. Unfortunately, that captain had served for a few years after that, graduating last year. As the next eldest member on the team, I got the letter and the badge sent to my home over the summer, by owl of course. That was when Grandpa and Grandma were over, meaning Dad had to create a story about pests in the neighborhood and I had to contain my excitement for what seemed like an eternity.

Quidditch, being far more interesting than cricket or football, was one of my favorite things. And I was surprisingly good at it, considering I was the child of two of the most ordinary muggles you could ever meet. It wasn't football, but Dad did sometimes enjoy me filling him in about my saves during Quidditch games. Sports is something he understands, even if it is the magic sort. 

Sawyer took my badge next and turned it over in his hand. "Sweet," he said. "I look forward to cheering on the team you bring to the pitch. They better be more talented than last year, or I'm going to seriously contemplate rooting for a different house team in your place. Maybe Slytherin. Scorpius Malfoy got a good team going last year."

"Malfoy? I can take him down, no problem." I smiled and took my badge back, this time pinning it to my sweater. "Have you said your goodbyes yet? We should probably get on the train and find a compartment."

My friends nodded. "I did, but I think my dads got sidetracked with some of their old Hogwarts buddies," said Sawyer. "Harry Potter again. Whenever he's ever mentioned in conversation they always have to talk about how they were in his year at school and shared the dorm room with him. Like I haven't heard it six thousand times before."

Holly nudged me. "Harry Potter," she said. "Your little obsession."

"It's not an obsession, Holly," I said, wheeling my trolley after them as we headed toward the train. And it wasn't. I was just fascinated with the stories of Lord Voldemort and the war that had happened involving him. My sort-of uncle had grown up in the care of his Aunt and Uncle, my grandparents, possibly the most mundane couple in the world, and had still done great things. I didn't exactly aspire to be as great as Harry or to outdo them in any way, but I couldn't help but admire him. Getting other wizards and witches to treat you seriously when you have no magical background is hard to do. More importantly, he had grown up in the same house as Dudley Dursley and became a successful wizard, giving me hope that I could do the same.

I remembered my first train ride to Hogwarts as we boarded the train. I soon ditched my cousins, feeling out of place and somewhat inadequate among them. I had joined the first carriage I came across, which happened to be full of noisy upperclassman. I had been absolutely terrified sat among them, though they were nice enough to me, but fortunately the younger sister of one of the older wizards came in after a while. It was Holly Boot, who had more stories about Harry Potter told to her by her father, who had barely known him, than my father ever told me. 

When we first entered the Great Hall, the talking hat nearly gave me a heart attack. It didn't help that I was a hatstall and had to sit there for almost four whole minutes while the Sorting Hat shifted through my memories and thoughts. Then I had been separated from Holly, a Ravenclaw, but luckily had met a fellow Hufflepuff friend during the feast. Sawyer, being an adopted child, had been unsure of whether he would even get a Hogwarts letter despite growing up in a family of wizards. Maybe all the magic had rubbed off on him or maybe he had just been a wizard from the start. Although both of his parents had been Gryffindors, they didn't mind having a Hufflepuff in the family.

Which was a first.

I remembered coming home for Christmas after my first term at Hogwarts and telling my Mum and Dad all about my new friends. Dad had nearly choked on his toast.

"Your friend is the adopted son of two gay wizards?!"

"I don't know why that should be a problem, Dad. People are allowed to love who they want. He's a great friend."

"This Sawyer is another thing you have to hush up about when your grandparents are around, Esther. Do you understand? I don't want any mentions of gay wizards or any wizards under this roof when they are around."

I had moped and pushed my cereal around in it's bowl morosely. "It seems that you don't want any mention of magic in this house, not just for Grandpa and Grandma's sake. Is it because his dads were good friends of Harry?"

At the mention of his cousin, my Dad had gotten up and left the table. Mum had sighed and sat down next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Your father has bad experiences with magic, Esther. He was mistreated and scared by them several times, and nearly killed by a dementator once."

"Dementor," I corrected.

"Right, that."

Now, as I followed Sawyer and Holly down the train's corridors, relieved of my trolley and Pavo's cage at last, I pushed these memories out of my head. We peered into each compartment as we walked, trying to find an empty one or one with people we knew to sit with. The train pulled out of the station and the air rang with shouts of goodbye. None for me, though. My parents would be halfway home by now.

The train lurched as a redheaded girl and a dark haired boy, probably first years, squeezed their way past us. My heart nearly stopped. Rose Weasley, Albus Potter, and some of their other friends from our year. Even though we were related, they seemed to hold some of our fathers' grudges and tended to ignore me.

"Hello, Esther," said Rose, though there was an edge in her voice. 

"Hello," I replied. "Nice summer break?"

"Yes," they chorused, and then disappeared down the hall behind us.

I sighed. In my first few years at Hogwarts I had tried to become friends with them. Surely, just because my father hadn't been nice to theirs when they were children didn't mean we couldn't get along. It was all in the past, wasn't it?

The train was at full speed now, jolting from side to side now and then. Holly found an empty compartment and pushed it open, letting us step inside before sliding it closed. I sat down by the window, watching until Platform 9 3/4 was no longer visible in the distance.

"Don't let that meeting with your distant relatives get you down," said Sawyer, punching me on the arm.

"I do wish you would just talk to them, Essie. Do you know how awkward it is for me to talk to Rose when you, my best friend, and her, my Ravenclaw roommate, avoid each other at all costs? I can't ever bring you up without her freezing and running away," said Holly. "Give her a chance. She's a good person, as I am sure Albus, Lily, and Hugo are, too."

"Of course it's going to be awkward between them," Sawyer said, narrowing his eyes at Holly.

"It's been six years," I said. "Don't you think they would've warmed up to me by now?"

"It was hard for their dad, you know," Holly said. "I guess it's only natural they hold some of their father's grudge, but that doesn't mean it's not stupid."

"It was hard for my dad, too. He lived his life in fear of Harry casting some spell and ruining his life forever. Maybe I hold a grudge against them, too."

Holly shrugged. "Fine. Just let them be."

We sat a moment in silence as some first years moved noisily outside our compartment. The new students were always the loudest and most obnoxious.

"My brother thinks that Gryffindor is the best house," said one of them to her friends. She was confident, so she must have been a pureblood. "I'm going to be sorted immediately into Gryffindor and I'll be the bravest witch you'll ever know. Just you see. The hat will barely touch my head before realizing I'm the perfect Gryffindor."

"What about the other houses?" asked a more timid voice, probably a muggle born.

"The other ones aren't so great. Especially not Hufflepuff, nobody wants to be one of them. They never do anything."

Sawyer and I immediately clenched our jaws in anger.

"Everybody wants to be a freaking Gryffindor," I said. Sawyer nodded. 

"Yeah, because they're brave and everyone wants to be courageous," said Holly, sitting cross-legged on the bench. "Don't be so down about it, every house has their stereotype. Slytherin is for the dark wizards and children of the old Death Eaters, Gryffindor for all the heroes, and Ravenclaw is for the bossy and the conceited know it alls. I accept my title with pride. And Hufflepuffs -"

Sawyer and I narrowed our eyes at Holly, daring her to say something bad about our house.

"-well, Hufflepuffs are great, naturally. Why else would I choose to spend all my time with a pair of them?" said Holly. She had faced this topic of conversation many times before and was probably irritated by the pair of us bringing it up all the time. "I wouldn't waste my time on a bunch of idiots."

"Thanks, Holls, you make me feel much better," I said sarcastically. "It honestly annoys me that being in any of the other houses is more desirable than being a Hufflepuff. We're loyal and honest. Aren't those good traits to be associated with?"

"It's because we're in the background a lot," said Sawyer. "Sidekicks. Nobody Hufflepuff ever got very famous. Except Helga Hufflepuff herself, of course."

Holly rolled her eyes. "You're so overdramatic. Of course there are more famous Hufflepuffs than that. Newton Scamander was a Hufflepuff, as was Cedric Diggory, the Hogwarts champion for the TriWizard Tournament."

"Who was killed by Voldemort and then Harry Potter won," said Sawyer.

"Still. Just because in more recent history Hufflepuffs haven't done much doesn't mean they haven't done anything ever."

"It's more recent history that gets on my nerves!" I cried. "When was the last time we won the House Cup or the school Quidditch cup? Every time we ever get close we're overshadowed from some 'better' house."

"I guess being loyal and honest means we're supposed to fade into the background, Esther," said Sawyer. "Loyal is a trait for a follower, not a leader."

"Why shouldn't Hufflepuffs lead? I think you can be loyal and still do great things," I said. "I don't want anybody to ever underestimate my house. First years should want to be badgers just as much as they want to be eagles, lions, and snakes."

There was a timid knock on our compartment door and I realized that the lady who sells treats on the journey to school had peered in, seen us arguing emphatically, and tried to decide whether she wanted to bother interrupting. My anger melted away and I managed a smile.

I pulled a couple of galleons out of my pocket and passed them to the sweets lady. "Chocolate frogs please," I said. A moment later we were sitting together in silence, all eating our sweets and thinking our separate thoughts.

Some kind of bang went off down the hallway, making us jump, followed by a kid running by the door with a black eye. Sawyer shook his head. "We're not even a quarter of the way there yet, but the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes stuff has already been unpacked."

Holly groaned. "As prefect, I fee obliged to get up and confiscate whatever just blew up, but I'm too lazy. I'll start handing out detentions once school actually starts. I can't be bothered to think until then."

I laughed. Holly was probably the only lazy Ravenclaw to ever go to Hogwarts. She procrastinated all of her homework assignments and took only the vaguest of notes in classes, yet somehow managed to remain a solid student. She wasn't stupid, just extremely idle. Sawyer and I always joked that she had only been given the roll of prefect because everyone else in Ravenclaw would've taken it too seriously, handing out more detentions than the teachers could handle.

I looked down at my Quidditch captain badge with pride. My grades weren't good enough for me to have been made prefect. On my O.W.L.S. I had gotten outstanding in Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions, E in almost everything else, and had miraculously been able to scrape by with an A in Defense Against the Dark Arts. How, I didn't know. We had both fallen asleep at four in the morning and had been exhausted while taking our exams but studying the night before with Sawyer had paid off after all.

I opened my chocolate frog, caught it before it could jump onto Holly's head, and stuffed it in my mouth. You just couldn't get chocolate as good as wizard's chocolate, and because my Dad banned all owl communication over the breaks, my friends hadn't been able to send me any. I pulled my chocolate frog card out next and examined the picture inside.

Harry Potter's face stared back at me before quickly averting eye contact and disappearing out of the frame. I sighed and put the card back in it's box.


	3. Quidditch

Class schedules were passed out on the first day of term. There was a lot of movement between tables as friends from different houses compared schedules, wanting to see whether their friends would be in double classes with them. The enchanted ceiling showed a blue sky and several big, white fluffy clouds, brightening my mood. Sawyer and I, feeling good to be dressed in Hogwarts robes again, were joined at the Hufflepuff table by Holly, who was already looking stressed.

"You're still in Muggle studies?" I asked, scanning Holly's schedule.

"Yeah, all your help over the past few years has really paid off," Holly replied, stealing a piece of toast off my plate. "That class is honestly so confusing. Electricity, all those different telly words, boring muggle sports. How do your parents do _anything_ without magic?"

"To be honest, they don't do much at all."

Holly laughed and Sawyer snatched my schedule away instead. He wasn't wearing his glasses, they lay forgotten in the dorm again most likely. Instead he pressed the parchment close to his nose, almost immediately ripping it in half. 

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. He pulled out his wand and tapped the tear, saying, " _Reparo._ " That had been the first spell Sawyer perfected, a result of him having to use it so often. The schedule stuck itself back together and I took it off him, choosing to read it out loud.

"We're in almost everything together, Sawyer. And we've got double Herbology with Ravenclaw on Tuesday afternoons, double again with Slytherin in Defense Against the Dark Arts on Fridays."

Sawyer groaned. "Just wonderful. We Hufflepuffs will be the defense part and the Slytherins will be the dark arts, I assume."

"I'm really going to need your help for that class, Holly," I said. "I only just barely scraped by on my O.W.L.S. and now they're going to expect me to work at N.E.W.T. level while captaining the Quidditch team and dealing with all my other classes all at the same time. I almost wish I'd failed the class after all."

"I'll get you through it if you can get me through Muggle Studies."

"Deal."

We shook hands on it and everything.

For the very first class of the day, Holly joined some of her Ravenclaw pals to head down into the dungeons for Potions while Sawyer and I followed other Hufflepuff students up to Professor Binn's room. Having History of Magic was bad enough normally, but first thing on a Monday morning would be even worse. 

I reminisced back to my first year as Professor Binns jumped straight into our history lesson, not bothering with the regular introduction days most of the other classes did at the start of term. I thought about how I had thought having a ghost for a teacher would be so cool, and much more interesting than a normal history teacher. I had been wrong. Binns did have a lot of stories to tell, he just told them in a very boring way. Nevertheless, I didn't want to start my sixth year off on the wrong foot so I forced my eyes open and I took dutiful notes on fresh parchment.

Stepping out of the classroom later, Sawyer and I shared notes, filling each other in on what the other had missed as they zoned out. The rest of the day passed more or less the same way, the halls ringing with the sound of friends catching up after the long time away.

The rest of the week did not pass so smoothly. After the first day, teachers began bombarding us with assignments again. One of the girls I shared my dorm with, Felicia, had a break down before we had even reached the first Friday of the year. The rest of us had to calm her down over lunch so she could manage to complete her foot long Potions essay for her next class. Other students laughed as poor Felicia cried into her soup, but Claudette threatened the offenders with a Bat Bogey Hex and they cleared off. 

Many times I saw my sort-of cousins in the hallways. Rose gave me weird looks as I came over to the Ravenclaw table to talk to Holly, Albus and Lily hurried past me in the hallways, and Hugo Weasley always sat on the other end of the Hufflepuff table from where I was. Maybe I was imaging these things and the Potters and Weasleys weren't doing them on purpose, but it was hard to tell. 

But even with all the chaos and exhaustion the first week brought, I was still glad to be back at Hogwarts. It was refreshing to be able to catch up on the wizarding news, like the current standings in the European Quidditch League, and see all the familiar faces again. Plus, there was Quidditch try outs to look forward to. 

On Friday afternoon, Sawyer and I met Holly in the library after our last classes finished. While I listed the ingredients necessary for a Forgetfullness Potion and Sawyer chanted the names of different influential wizards under his breath, Holly lounged in her chair by the window, flipping lazily through our Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook.

"How did your double class with the Slytherins go?" she asked, tilting her head to better look at the diagram of a witch blocking the Imperius Curse.

"Fine," I replied.

"Except that the Slytherins were laughing at Felicia for her breakdown yesterday," said Sawyer. "They need to find a better pasttime than making fun of nice people for their mishaps. She was only stressed because of the amount of homework we have, and just after O.W.L.S., too."

We were quiet again for a while. I snatched my textbook from Holly and opened to the chapter we were supposed to read for homework. I read a couple sentences on counter curses and blocking but soon banged my head against the table.

"I do not understand Defense Against the Dark Arts," I said, slamming my book closed again. I wasn't giving up on my homework, I was just going to take a leaf out of Holly's book for once and leave it for later, when I would be older and therefore wiser. "I thought all the Dark Arts were obliterated anyway."

"Please, there's proof that it isn't. Just look over at the Slytherin table every once in a while," Sawyer said. 

"You're incredibly set against them this year, Sawyer. More than usual."

"Yeah," he said. He looked angry but he didn't offer any insight, instead turning back to his History assignment, his quill moving furiously across the parchment.

Holly and I exchanged a look and she shrugged. "I thought you Hufflepuffs were supposed to be hardworking. What's with the quitting, Essie?"

"I'm not quitting, I've got Quidditch tryouts to prepare for," I said. "I think I'm going to need a lot more help than I anticipated with passing Defense this year. We've had a single lesson and I already feel that I'm dropping behind. I don't know how I ever managed an A on my O.W.L."

"You're obviously good enough for the class and I know you, you're going to work your way out of your confusion," Holly assured me. "But fine, be lazy and plan for your Quidditch stuff."

"You're one to talk," I said. 

~~~

I held Quidditch tryouts the next afternoon. It was already starting to get chilly so I pulled on a stripy sweater and my winter hat with the pom pom on top before heading down to the pitch with Sawyer and my broomstick. I was happy to see other Hufflepuffs already sitting in the stands or warming up as I heaved the heavy crate of the Quidditch balls to the center of the pitch.

"Do you think you could let me on the team?" Sawyer asked jokingly, tossing the beater's bats to some fourth years standing nearby.

"If you're any good, maybe I'll think about it."

"Oh come on, you know I'm rubbish at Quidditch. I can't compete even with the puny second years," he said. "No point in trying out, I guess, if you're going for the best team possible."

Sawyer helped me organize the students trying out by the position they were hoping to get. From the team I had played with before, I was only planning to keep Geronimo, a third year this year and a surprisingly strong beater for someone so young, and Mona, one of our chasers. It wouldn't be fair for me to guarantee them a spot when I was forcing the others to try out again, so I had them try as well.

Kicking off from the ground and soaring through the air over to the Quidditch hoops felt amazing. You really couldn't beat the feeling of the wind blowing back your hair and the exhilaration of knowing a fall from this height could potentially be fatal.

It had been a rough ride for me to get to where I was, captain of the Hufflepuff team. I had been awful when I first took flying lessons in first year but after watching a Quidditch game for the first time I was hooked and devoted myself to becoming part of the Hufflepuff team. Riding a broomstick really wasn't too different from riding a bike. You have to find your balance and learn to not think about it. I tried out in second year and didn't make it, probably because the captain didn't think I would be good enough as a Muggle born. I was the reserve chaser in third year and then during my fourth year I was discovered to be a good keeper, and I'd been in front of the goal hoops ever since. 

So when Posie Newbury, a Muggle born witch in the fourth year, was first to try and score on me, I wasn't about to underestimate her. You never know when the seemlingly insignificant and underexperienced are going to over preform.  

It turned out that Posie wasn't very good, but Mona after her was great. A few third year boys went and were average. Hugo Weasley showed up, giving me a strange look as he aimed for the hoops I guarded. But Oliver, a seventh year who I didn't even know owned a broomstick, blew them all away. He was pretty big, more of a beater physique, but he managed to score four out of the five shots. From the stands, Sawyer gave me a thumbs up. Oliver was definitely in and I wondered why he had never tried out until his last year. Our team could've at least scored a couple times a game with him on it. 

To test the beaters, I basically just had them fly around, trying to aim them at each other. It got fairly wild right before I called them back down and several kids nearly got knocked off their brooms or a bludger to the head. I marked stuff down on my clipboard, looking very official I assumed, and could have squealed in delight. This was going a lot smoother than I had hoped, and the future championship Hufflepuff team I was envisioning was starting to fall into place.

As I released the snitch and sent the potential seekers up into the air, I spotted some Slytherins watching and jeering from the stands. They had come to scout out the opposition, throw them off so they did badly in try outs. One girl got distracted by them yelling at her and missed the snitch bouncing around right above her head. The Slytherins all laughed raucously and I zoomed over on my broom, pulling out my wand.

"Hey, no need to get so defensive," one of them, Octavia, called, flipping her long braid over one shoulder. "We're only having a bit of fun."

One of her friends elbowed her, struggling to get her sentence out because she was already giggling at her own joke. "Yeah," she said, "we only came to try and judge by just how many points we're going to crush your team!"

The students burst into laughter again, one boy clutching his side and tearing up from laughing so hard. "I bet it'll be by several hundred," the boy said.

"Please, the game won't last five minutes!" 

The Slytherins went on like that for a few more minutes. I scowled and raised my wand, immediately shutting them up, which was a good thing for them, too, because I was getting dangerously close to body binding them all and dumping them into the lake. 

"I'd get out of here and stop interrupting our try outs," I growled.

One boy raised his arms in the air in a surrender. "Okay, okay, but I'll bet that when we play you, Malfoy is going to catch the snitch before your slow seekers are even in the air. They're not looking too hot." 

He pointed up in the sky and I followed his gaze up to the sky where the potential seekers were flying around in all sorts of random directions, one trying to pull his broom out of an uncontrollable nosedive. I could cleary see the snitch glinting over by the goal posts but none of the other Hufflepuffs seemed to notice it. 

As the Slytherins stood up, still joking among themselves, my heart sunk. Maybe my perfect team wasn't going to be so perfect after all. If we didn't have someone capable of catching the snitch, the game would always be lost for us unless we scored over fifteen times each match. 

Not feeling as confident as I would have liked, I posted the new team on Monday, alongside our new practice schedule:

 

_Keeper/Captain: Esther Dursley_

_Chasers: Mona Dice, Oliver Dunlop, Hugo Weasley_

_Beaters: Geronimo Fletcher, Heather Gulliver_

_Seeker: Cassie Klein_

_Reserves: Posie Newbury, Wesley Rogan_

 

As a big crowd of Hufflepuffs gathered around the notice board in the common room, itching to get a look at the new team, I retreated down the corridor to my bedroom. I still had that Defense Against the Dark Arts homework to get started on, plus I wasn't looking forward to seeing the disappointed faces of those who didn't make it.

Our first practice would be that Wednesday evening. Cassie wasn't very good, but she was the only student who tried out who could actually stay on the right way on her broom. She even got fairly close to the snitch. 

In bed that night, I thought morosely about the new team. If only a match of Quidditch could be won by being within five feet from the snitch.


	4. Defense Against the Dark Arts

Even though I had until Friday to complete my Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment, I took a leaf out of Holly's book and didn't do it until my free period right before the class. On Tuesday my excuse was preparing for practice, on Wednesday I had practice, during which I spent half the time teaching Cassie to stay on her broom properly. Thursday I had...other things that needed doing, like chatting with Felicia and Holly in the library.

I still didn't understand anything about Defense Against the Dark Arts. I had Sawyer sent jinxes my way so I could attempt blocking them, but I failed every single time. I got fed up of falling over into the grass in a body bind and I even hit my head on a rock. It was no use. Maybe I just wasn't meant to be an Auror. I could live with that. Potions, maybe even magical healing, was more up my alley.

But Hufflepuffs are hardworking, and I couldn't deal with the fact that no matter how much effort I put into this one subject, I never did very well. On Friday, right before class, I just copied down facts on counter curses from the textbook. I didn't know enough to write my assignment otherwise. It was the best I could do, even if I wasn't happy with it.

Professor Venables, of course, decided to collect the homework at the beginning of class. I watched my paper float up and join the stack of others on her desk with growing dread. Surely she would realize I wasn't cut out for N.E.W.T. level defense and would kick me out as soon as she saw the homework. Hopefully she wouldn't do it in front of everyone. The Slytherins in the class, who had stolen all the seats towards the back of the classroom as usual, would tease me relentlessly, especially on the Quidditch pitch, I knew. I would never hear the end of it, and the chants from the Quidditch stands would distract the team and Hufflepuff would come last in the House Cup...

If I had to leave, quietly would be fine, I decided. I should just own up to being a failure in the subject, I thought, to spare me the pain and misery. Then maybe I could talk to McGonagall and add some other course in its place....

"Miss Dursley?"

There were some snickers and I turned bright red. Did they test teachers to make sure they could call out day dreaming students or was it a skill they developed over time? "Uh, yes, Professor?" I stammered.

"Look around you," said Professor Venables. "Every other student in the classroom has their book open to chapter one and their wands out. Do you feel that you are exempt from taking part in the class or will you follow suit?"

Ignoring the jeers from the Slytherin half of the room, I quickly flipped through my book and pulled out my wand as Professor Venables waited. When I was ready she nodded and turned back to her chalkboard. She waved her wand and notes on the course expectations appeared instantaneously on the board. I hurried to copy them down, not wanting to look like a fool again, especially not in a class full of hostile Slytherins.

The lesson was mainly just information on our N.E.W.T.S. and what it meant for us in our Defense Against the Dark Arts course, but in the last quarter of class we had to start reading our textbooks, making notes on the types of magic creatures it mentioned. I have never felt so much like a dunce before. The other students around me scribbled furiously, turning the pages in their textbooks loudly, boasting the fact that they were ahead. I was stuck on boggarts, reading the signs of identification over and over again. I had taken some notes, but how was I supposed to tell a boggart from whatever heinous beast it would turn into to scare me?

Sure, I know I didn't come from the greatest of stock, so if it came down to it I could blame it on genes, but normally I could do a lot better than understanding absolutely nil. Eventually I gave up on boggarts and closed my textbook. Suffering over it wasn't going to help me get any better. I wished that of all the magic inventions you could buy during the weekend trips to Hogsmeade, there was one that could learn your lessons for you.

I was too embarrassed after being called out by Professor Venables to ask her a simple question about the next homework assignement, and twice as frightened to ask to be taken out of the class, so when Defense Against the Dark Arts was finished I sighed with relief, packed up my bag, and filed out of the room with the rest of the students.

The hallways miraculously went from empty to jam packed in just a few seconds. Standing on the tips of my toes - I had never been too tall, or maybe it was the witches and wizards who were just big - trying to find Holly as we were swept up by the current of students heading to various parts of the castle. I opened my mouth to complain about the lesson to Sawyer when someone spoke behind me.

"Hey, Esther."

I turned around, finding myself face to face with Scorpius Malfoy. I stepped back instinctively, eyeing the green tie around his neck. Behind me Sawyer made some strange noise and pulled on the back of my robes.

"I heard you put your Quidditch team together already," he said. "How's it going? Are you prepared for the first game?"

I was taken aback for a moment. There was no hint of malice in Malfoy's voice at all. He sounded...genuine. Like he actually wanted to know how the Hufflepuff Quidditch team was doing. I looked around warily, suspecting some crony to pounce out from behind the suit of armor and hex me or something. Nothing came, but Scorpius did raise his eyebrow.

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh, sorry," I said. "I'm just tired from that Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. I didn't know a single thing she taught us today and I'm so pleased she didn't ask us to demonstrate the spells in front of the class today, because I'm just dreadful at that. The Quidditch team is doing pretty well, thanks for asking, but our seeker isn't very good which doesn't bode well, but what are you going to do?" I stopped suddenly, realizing I had probably spoken too much. When nervous, I tend to ramble. In an attempt to direct the conversation safely away from myself, and avoiding Scorpius's eyes as I did so, I added, "Uh, how's your team going?"

Scorpius laughed. "We're doing great. We had practice just the other day and I really think Slytherin can win this year. You know, if Hufflepuff doesn't kick our butts."

Sawyer and I watched as he disappeared down the hallway after a cheerful goodbye. Then we were the only two standing in the hallway.

"Holy shit, Essie!" Sawyer grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Professor Venables' room, towards the staircases. "What the hell was that all about?!"

"What do you mean?"

"Scorpius! Why was he being so...jovial all of a sudden?!"

"I don't know, Sawyer, but I think you're overreacting." I pulled my arm out of his grasp but continued to follow him briskly up the staircase. He kept hopping over several steps at once, even when there weren't trick ones.

"Overreacting? He's a Slytherin, Esther, and he was just setting up something evil, I can feel it," said Sawyer. "How do you not see how that was suspicious? We spend six years in the same school as Malfoy and now he decides to become all friendly? Why not way back in first year?"

I sighed. "Stop going on about it. He was just asking about the Quidditch team."

"He's the captain of our rival house! I swear on the box of chocolate frogs I've got in my dormitory that he was just trying to get some information out of you. Now they know we haven't got a good seeker, he's going to exploit that!"

"By what? Getting a good seeker? It won't take much to beat Cassie at the moment and I doubt he'd replace himself, even if he wasn't up for the job," I said. "Why are you so set against the fact that he probably just wanted to be nice?"

"Because he's a Slytherin and Slytherins don't do nice things for the hell of it," Sawyer said. We had come to the door to the Common Room now, an unassuming wooden door fairly close to the kitchens, which was handy for late night study sessions or just the random hunger pangs. Sawyer performed the knock to get inside: two quick raps, a pause, three slow ones, and two more quick ones. The door swung open and we stepped through.

"You're being too judgmental," I said. "Hufflepuffs are supposed have the most inter-house friendships and relationships, becasue we're the most accepting."

Sawyer snorted. "That's a generalization. Not all Gryffindors are huge adrenaline junkies and not all Ravenclaws are perfectionists, as shown by Holly. Anyway, you're being too trusting of a Slytherin. You know the Sorting Hat just puts all the evil people down in the dungeons for safe keeping."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Not all Slytherins study the Dark Arts, Sawyer. Just because we view self confidence and pride as evil doesn't mean all the Slytherins are bad people," I said.

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Essie, the only Dark Arts you need to learn to defend against is that Malfoy."

I tried not to laugh as I nudged him gently with my elbow as he headed down the hallway to his room, but I was actually starting to worry about Sawyer. He had never particularly liked Slytherin house, but I'd never seen him so set against them either, outside of Quidditch matches that is. Was something going on?

I was also just as surprised as Sawyer that Scorpius had spoken to me. Inter-house socialization had never seemed to be his cup of tea and he was raised in a pureblood family, descendants of Death Eaters. Surely that meant he wouldn't want to be communicating with a muggle born witch like me. Though if he held his father's grudges than maybe it made sense that he'd be so inclined to talk with me. Together, our fathers had made Harry Potter miserable.

As though to emphasize my thoughts, Hugo Weasley came into the Common Room just at that moment. He detached himself from his friends and nervously sidled over, fiddling with his tie as I had noticed he did when he was nervous.

"Uh...Esther," he said.

"Hi, Hugo. Is something the matter?"

"Uh, no, not exactly," he mumbled. Then, louder, "Yes, something is. I wanted to talk about our Quidditch team with you. You know, because you're...the captain and all."

I smiled, wishing desperately that the awkward tension between us could dissipate. "Ask away, Hugo."

"Well, I overheard you talking with Cassie about extra practices with her so we can have a good Seeker this year and was wondering if I could join in the practices? This is the first year I've played Quidditch and I'm nervous." He shuffled his feet awkwardly, staring at a patch on the carpet. "I don't want to be awful. I've got a lot of legacy to live up to."

I felt like slapping the kid on the back or giving him a hug or something but decided against it. I settled for a reassuring smile instead. "You're completely welcome to join us, Hugo, though I'm certain you're going to be great. You're a world class Chaser, you know."

He managed a small smile back at me. "Thanks, Esther. Saturday morning, right? The day before our first match?"

I nodded. "I'll see you then, Hugo."

"Yeah, I'll see you around."

Hugo shuffled away, peering over his shoulder at me as he left. He probably couldn't believe it either, that someone from the Potter-Weasley family could have a normal, friendly conversation with a Dursley. I hoped it wouldn't be the only one that ever occurred.

Two strange conversations whirling around in my head, I hitched up my bag and walked down the short corridor to the room I shared with the other sixth year Hufflepuff girls. I had a lot of thinking to do, but unfortunately that would have to wait until after some schoolwork. 


	5. Seeking

I stood on the Quidditch pitch in my yellow robes, the strong winds blowing them around my ankles. I held my broom in one hand and I held my hair out of my face with the other, watching the skies above as Cassie flew in circles chasing the snitch. Hugo stood beside me, leaning on his own broomstick, with what I suspected was an identical look of defeat that I was wearing. Any differences that I felt between us and all traces of rivalry left over from the days of our parents were gone, replaced with a mutual sense of horror and fear.

"The match is tomorrow," he said incredulously.

"Trust me, I'm aware."

"She was honestly the best we could find?" he asked. "I mean, I'm no good at seeking either, but bloody hell, she's awful."

I raised my voice to beat the wind, calling out to Cassie. "Keep your eyes focused on it! Make sure it never leaves your sight once you've seen it the first time!" Then I turned to Hugo and pulled a horrified face that he recipricated with a nod of understanding. 

After several more minutes, Cassie pointed her broomstick towards the ground. For a terrifying moment it looked as though she would nosedive straight into us, so Hugo and I flinched, but she pulled out of it at the last moment and came to an skidding stop in front of us. Her short cut blond hair was in tangles from the wind and she looked miserable.

"I'm really bad at this game," she said, not dismounting as much as slipping involuntarily off the broomstick. "I'm sorry, Esther."

"There's no need to apologize. You're improving," I said, trying to sound sure of my words. "As long as you keep at it with a good attitude, your hard work will pay off. Diligence is a quality Hufflepuffs are known for, so don't let us down, Cassie."

She looked close to tears. "We're playing Ravenclaw tomorrow and I don't have a chance against their seeker. I'm going to let the whole house down."

"No you won't," I said, trying to silently comunicate with Hugo. "You're going to do the best you can, Cassie, and that's all that matters. Whether we win or lose isn't the point. Quidditch is about having a good time."

"Winning the cup would be nice, though," Hugo muttered. I guess he hadn't caught my mental messages, then. I wanted to kick the kid, but Cassie luckily hadn't heard and I was feeling the same way, so I didn't. More loudly, Hugo said, "We're going to do great, tomorrow, Cassie."

Before Cassie could burst into tears I clapped my hands and mounted my broom, quaffle in hand. "Let's do some other training for a while," I said. "The snitch will be perfectly content to fly around without being caught until later. It's what it does best, after all."

Hugo did fine, of course. He was fine at catching the quaffle and was pretty maneuverable, even with the ball in hand.

"Toss harder," I suggested, after catching his sixth shot in a row without trouble.

"You keep saving them," he grumbled.

"It's my job as Keeper."

"Fair enough." He lobbed the ball as hard as he could in my direction, so hard that I didn't want to risk an injury and dipped my broom down below the goals. The throw was wild, though, and soared over the rings instead of through them. Cassie zoomed after the ball, eager to redeem herself after her own performance.

"Better," I told Hugo, smiling, "but don't sacrifice your aim."

Our regular practice as a team went fine, but everyone was distracted with the prospect of our first match looming over our heads. Every time one of my players whispered something under their breath or shot an unkind glance in Cassie's direction, I would fly over and whack them lightly over the head or simply give them a killer stare. Our poor seeker, bad as she was, would be getting enough hassle without her teammates adding to it. 

"Okay, guys," I said when we all had two feet on the ground at the end of practice. "Tonight you're all going to cut dessert and the pumpkin juice and eat something nutritious." There was the obligatory grumble of complaint, but I knew they would all be conscientious at supper that evening. "Tomorrow morning," I went on, "no matter how nervous and sick you feel, each and every one of you is going to stomach at least a piece of toast. We can't have any players not performing well on the field because of something trivial like missing breakfast. And I don't care if you have the biggest, most important essay in  the world to work on, you're all going to bed and getting a good night's sleep. Then we're going to come out here and show Ravenclaw exactly what Hufflepuff can do."

I hoped I had stirred up more team spirit and determination in them than I was feeling. As we left the Quidditch pitch with brooms tucked under our arms, I gave each member of my team a quick pat on the back or word of encouragement. I walked most of the way up to the castle with Cassie, who was still stuck on her idea that she was going to let the entire team down.

"It's all going to be fine," I told her.

"It's all going to be awful," I told Sawyer. I had looked around and saw that each of my players, minus Cassie, was dutifully eating their vegetables, yet I was picking at my own. I didn't have the stomach for it, honestly. The game was still over twelve hours away, but I was already feeling nervous. I knew sleeping would be difficult.

"Come on, that doesn't sound like the Essie I know," Sawyer responded. Our argument hadn't gotten between us, though he glared at me every time we passed a student in a green tie, as though daring me to say something to him about it. "What happened to your endless supply of faith and hope and loyalty and all that?"

I flicked across the table and it bounced off his forehead. "Our seeker can't even  _fly_ properly, let alone try and find the snitch. Unless I can do something about her, like find a new player, we're only going to win games if I save every single shot and if our Chasers have total possession and score hundreds of points so the other team catches the snitch just to end the game and their misery."

Sawyer laughed and speared one of my potatoes, waving it around on his fork as he spoke and not even noticing when it fell onto his plate in two pieces. "You're going to go out there tomorrow and show Hogwarts exactly what Hufflepuff can do."

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. Sawyer just laughed. "Gotcha. All motivational speeches are identical, Esther, and it seems that you're not one to be original."

He put the potato in his mouth and chewed. "In all honesty, though, your'e going to do fine, Esther. I know this is big on you because it's your first match as captain of the team. I know you think that the whole house is going to judge you, but we're  _Hufflepuffs_. If everything goes to shit, the worst we can do is say that next season will turn out better."

~

Felicia, Claudette, Midha, and Keira woke me up by jumping simultaneously on my bed. I laughed along with them as they pulled me out from under the covers and wrapped me in several yellow scarves and banners they had enchanted to show fierce badgers scampering all over the place. I gave them each a huge hug and thanked them and they showered me with encouragements.

"I'm so, so excited," said Keira, who was painting yellow and black stripes across Felicia's cheeks. "I know that whatever happens, Hufflepuff isn't going to be a let down."

I wasn't so sure about that, but I let it slide. "Thanks," I said. I had a feeling that my smile would be plastered on for the day. I was so, so nervous.

Midha patted my arm as we left the room for breakfast, sensing my discomfort. She wore a yellow and black hijab for the occasion I remembered how surprised, but delighted, the others and I had been when we learned that Midha was Muslim. At first the prayer rug, head scarf, and fasting during Ramadan had been foreign and strange, especially to the wizards, but they soon became normal. It was strange at home over the summer when it was prayer time and I couldn't look across my room or into an empty classroom to see Midha washing herself in preparation. As fellow Muggle born witches, we tended to stick together and sympathize with each other more than with the other three that shared our dorm.

"There's no need to be nervous," she said in her soft voice. "You may be the captain, but that doesn't mean you're responsible for the performance of every one of your players."

"But I feel like I am. Isn't that the role of a captain?"

She shrugged. "Some things are out of your control. You can't play for everyone on the team. Remember that, Esther. The team is going to perform just fine."

Claudette glanced back at us. "If any of those Slytherins badmouth us, I won't hesitate to hex them all. I'll send them to St. Mungo's if I have to."

There was a splattering of applause as I arrived at the Hufflepuff table with my entourage. I was reminded again of the virtues of my house. Hufflepuffs would cheer on their team and get excited over the games, even if everyone had heard about the lack of skill on the team. Even if we lost drastically, even if our major defeat was all the school spoke about for weeks after, then I would still only hear congratulations from my own house.

I have to admit, it felt good wearing my Quidditch robes for the purpose they were meant for - playing a match. They felt cool and light, yet snug enough to be streamlined and warm enough so I wouldn't get cold zipping through the air on my beloved broom. From the changing rooms you could hear the noise that hundreds of students made as they sat and waited for the match to begin.

I remembered a time when I was younger, before I was a witch, when my father brought me to a football match in the hopes that I could double as his precious daughter and sports loving son. The only details I could still recall were the sweaty soft drinks, the cursing from the drunk couple in front of us, and the chanting of the crowd. My father had been into it, though, and I thought enviously of all the students that would play today and then write home to their parents about it, parents that would be eager to hear news about the school Quidditch Cup. 

We filed out onto the field to both cheering and booing, but the booing was a part of every sporting match ever, so I had learned to turn it out. I watched the Ravenclaw seeker's eyes as he followed the newly released snitch and then glanced at Cassie, who was just staring with her mouth slightly open at the player she had to out fly.

I fiddled with the neck of my robes, looked at the undulating crowd of yellow in the stands, shifted my weight on my broomstick, and kicked off at the whistle.

Our commentator was Midha's younger brother, a Gryffindor fourth year named Rehmat. His voice boomed across the pitch as he called out a quick succession of names. I couldn't see the exchange of the quaffle as I zoomed towards my goal posts, but relied on Rehmat to tell me what was happening.

"...and Ludwig dodges that nicely placed bludger by Dunlop and zips towards the Hufflepuff goal posts with Weasley right on his tail. That boy's broom sure is fast, and Weasley's straining to keep up, especially now that - oH HE TAKES A SHOT!"

Rehmat's commentation hadn't let me down. I had whirled around in enough time to calculate the trajectory of Ludwig's shot and was able to maneuver into position to block it. The Hufflepuff section of the crowd cheered as the Ravenclaws let out their bated breath. I grinned at the thumbs up Mona gave me before tossing her the quaffle and watching her fly off in the opposite direction, sneaking in a quick pass to Oliver before the Ravenclaw players could get between them.

The first quarter of an hour or so of the game weren't unusual in any way, but as the clock ticked on and neither side managed to score the tension was palpable. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws alike were biting nails, clenching fists, and grinding teeth as they watched. The quaffle went back and forth across the pitch predictably, leaivng Rehmat to make pointless observations on the players' broomsticks. There had been no sign of the snitch.

"Henson and Rush for Ravenclaw are zig zagging their way across the pitch, towards Hufflepuff captain, Esther Dursley. The yellow chasers are nowhere to be found and -"

The whole stadium gasped as both bludgers were simultaneously whacked in my direction. They zoomed toward me and, feeling the ghost pain of my first ever Quidditch injury, I instinctively flew to the side. One bludger flew past harmlessly, chased down and hit by Geronimo, but the other whirled around and I was forced to slip off the side, dangling upside down with my legs over the broom, to avoid being hit square in the face.

I wasn't pulverized by bludgers, fortunately, but the Ravenclaw side burst into raucous cheering. There was a loud ding that signified that points had been scored and I groaned. The bludgers had been a nicely timed distraction.

"The first points of the game go to Ravenclaw!" Rehmat yelled. "It's ten to nil and the game is heating up. Dursley struggles to remount her broom and her face shows her disappointment. It's okay, Esther, the game has just begun and those bludgers were so precisely aimed that even the most legendary Keeper wouldn't have stood a chance."

Our second beater, Heather Gulliver, got a nice shot on Henson in retaliation for his goal and got huge applause from the Hufflepuff side of the stands. I was getting more anxious, especially watching Cassie hovering way above the game, trailing the Ravenclaw seeker, Xander Beard, from a distance. 

I saved two more shots and then let another in. Mona narrowly escaped a collision with two Ravenclaw players but Hugo got cornered and nearly fell off his broom. We made several shots, but Oliver's shot was too wide and Hugo's shot wasn't strong enough. He glanced back at me afterwards and nodded, knowing what I was going to suggest before I had to say anything.

"Hufflepuff has the possession again, and it's Dice, it's Weasley, it's Dice again! That was a beautiful pass to Dunlop and a nice maneuver around Ludwig. It's Weasley, and it looks like our seekers may have caught a glimpse of something, but it's just Weasley and the Keeper now!"

Hugo's shot was much better this time, and his aim was still good. Our side of the crowd waved their banners and jumped around like crazy when the bell went off to signify that Hugo had scored. 

The celebration didn't last long, though, because both seekers were flying at a steep angle towards the ground. The crowd went crazy and I held my breath as I caught sight of a flash of gold. Cassie was a good foot behind Xander and they were spiraling down towards the center of the pitch. The rest of the game seemed to go into standstill as everyone watched the two seekers. Then, in an instant, it was all over.

"Beard has caught the snitch! Ravenclaw wins!"

Cassie's broom smashed straight into the ground.


	6. Could-Be Drama

"So then, even though we were complaining that we already had foot long essays to write for Potions  _and_ Charms, he still assigned another one!" Holly was ranting to Sawyer and I, who had joined her at the Ravenclaw breakfast table, waiting for her to finish eating. She had a textbook propped open in front of her plate as she teared through a piece of toast, gnawing angrily, her curly hair wild and unbrushed.

"Sucks," Sawyer said. He picked up one of Holly's books and managed to rip one of the pages almost immediately, so he surreptitiously passed it to me so I could fix it.

"That's not the worst part," Holly said. She waved her arm at the rest of the room, which was empty as most of the other students had already eaten their breakfasts. "Of course I had to sleep in late! Now I've got to finish this stupid piece of toast and rush up to the library, because I'm not going to get another chance to find the right books until -"

My arm was tapped and I twisted in my seat to see Hugo, clinging nervously to his school bag with a worried expression on his face.

I immediately mimicked his look of concern, tuning out Holly's continuing rant. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"It's Cassie," he said.

I knew as captain I had to be goodnatured about things like defeat, but I couldn't help but let out a sigh. Hugo nodded in agreement. After the game everyone had been kind and supportive, because Hufflepuffs were great at accepting defeat, even if it was disappointing considering all the hard work we had put into preparing. Most of the team was a bit down but generally okay, except for Cassie. She had disappeared into her room and hadn't emerged once, not even for meals.

"What's she doing now?"

"Posie said that she's been skipping classes."

Holly and Sawyer were listening now, their eyes darting back and forth between Hugo and I.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Her dorm."

I nodded to Hugo and stood, handing Sawyer back the textbook. "Thanks for letting me know, Hugo. I'll go talk to her now."

"Good luck," he said. "Posie couldn't even get her to respond."

~~~

"It's okay," I told Cassie for the thousandth time. "One loss means nothing. It was only the first game."

Cassie was in her bed in her dorm room, the canopies pulled shut so I was talking to a wall of cloth. But apparently I was doing better than Posie had, because Cassie was actually talking, if only to put herself down.

"I'm a let down to our team," she said. "You shouldn't have taken the chance on me, Esther. I'm not good enough."

"That's not true. I chose you because you were the best for the job."

"I'm clearly awful at it."

"You're not! I can clearly see the potential in you. Hufflepuffs are known for our diligence, and with some more practice, you'll be catching snitches left and right!"

I knew it wasn't in Cassie's nature to give up, that she was only sulking in the aftermath of an embarrassing defeat. The Slytherin's jeers had been particularly bracing and Cassie hadn't been able to make it into the castle until bursting into tears, even with Oliver and I threatening our taunters with hexes.

"Cassie, you're going to be a great seeker," I said. "I'm not giving up on you." 

All I got were muffled sobs in return.

"I can't even say there's something wrong with my eyesight, because that would be a big lie. I'm just clumsy and bad at flying and -"

"You're not," I said, but that was all I could think of to say. I had used up every compliment and reassurance in my repertoire on Cassie, and so far nothing had worked.

I had spent over an hour trying to talk some sense into Cassie, but she wasn't listening. I decided that it would benefit me more to attend my own classes than to spend more time with her, when she obviously wasn't going to cooperate. I told myself that I wasn't giving up on her, I was merely going to wait for a better time to convince her of her worth.

"I have Defense of the Dark Arts in a few minutes. What do you have?"

"I can't possibly show my face in Charms. The whole class will be ridiculing me."

"Maybe the first time you walk out of the dormitories it will be tough, but everyone will forget about what happened in no time. This is Hogwarts. Tomorrow someone will jinx themselves and end up in the infirmary and that witch will be the talk of the school, not you." I stood from my perch on the end of one of the other beds and moved towards the door, shouldering my bag. "Your grades will suffer, Cassie, and I don't think one Quidditch match is worth that."

She didn't move or respond, but when I moved out of the room I could hear the curtains to her bed being drawn back.

I headed out through the the Common Room, which was empty save for a girl studying in the corner, presumably on a free period. I felt her eyes watching me as I stepped through the painting into the corridors by the kitchen. I had been lecturing Cassie on ignoring ridicule, but it was hard not to. Even though it had been a week since the game, I couldn't shake the feeling that every glance in my direction was full of disappointment. Our loss had definitely put a damper on our Quidditch practices and everybody was performing worse, no matter how hard I tried to keep everyone's mood up. 

Sawyer was waiting for me in the corridor of our Defense classroom, leaning with one shoulder against the stone wall, his back turned to the rest of the class, who were gathered in a clump by the door, waiting for Professor Venables to admit them. I hurried over to him, out of breath from running to get to class on time.

"How was she?" Sawyer asked.

"Fine," I said, waving away his concern. "Why are you all the way down here?"

"Waiting for you."

"You could be doing that with the other Hufflepuffs," I said.

"There are Slytherins down there, too, Essie."

I raised an eyebrow, walking backwards so I could talk with him as we moved towards the crowd down the hallway. "I think there's something you're not telling me."

Sawyer shrugged noncomittally. "What topic did you choose for your Defense paper again? Last time I asked you were still procrastinating on it."

I decided to humor Sawyer for now and go along with his topic change. We had had to write a foot long paper on the potency of the _riddikulus_ spell when used against boggarts. "This one was a lot easier because I'm good at Care of Magical Creatures, and I got Holly to help me a bit," I admitted.

Because we had been focusing more on dangerous creatures than on spells, I was doing a bit better in Defense than I had been originally. I used my knowledge from Magical Creatures class, which made Defense seem more logical to me than it had before. As long as I took lots of notes and got some proofreading from Holly on my papers, I was managing to keep my A in the class. I hadn't been caught day dreaming like I had in the first class and was beginning to actually like Professor Venables. 

After class I was repacking my bag when Sawyer stopped chatting to me, falling silent. I looked up to find a boy standing in front of my desk, his green eyes matching the color of his tie. A few of Scorpius's friends watched suspiciously from the doorway and Sawyer had gone stony faced, but I smiled nervously at the newcomer as I fastened my bag closed.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey, Esther. Bad luck last week in the Quidditch game. Your seeker needs a bit of work but otherwise you've put together a pretty nice team," he said.

"Thanks. I'm working on Cassie."

He grinned. "I still think Slytherin has a great chance of winning, but we'll see what happens when we face you."

"Is that a threat?" I asked, laughing.

"Maybe," he said. "Hey, are you still having trouble with Defense Against the Dark Arts? You haven't been looking as stressed out as you did the first day."

I blushed. "I'm better now we're focusing more on the magical creatures part."

"Well, I'm pretty good in Defense if I do say so myself."

He pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his bag, the essay Professor Venables had handed back during class. On the top of the paper was a large O. I thought of the A I had just put in my bag and felt my blush deepen.

Scorpius noticed and quickly put his assignment away. "Sorry, Esther, I didn't mean to try and one up you or anything. I was just saying that, you know, if you ever wanted some help then I'm happy to."

Sawyer grabbed my arm and scowled at Malfoy. "Our friend Holly is tutoring Esther, actually. So she doesn't need help from Slytherins."

I was aghast, but before I could apologize to Scorpius, Sawyer was pulling me towards the door and out of the classroom. I glanced back and shot him an apologetic look but Scorpius only shrugged nonchalantly. When we were several corridors away, I pried Sawyer's hand from my arm and shoved him angrily.

"What the hell was that?"

"What do you mean? He was trying to blackmail you or something!"

"He was asking if I wanted to study with him!" I cried. "That's hardly blackmail."

"It's all a front. He wants something more from you. If you go and study with him, he's going to pry all the secrets about the Quidditch team from you or something. He'll get you to write his Potions essays! He can't possibly be honest."

I crossed my arms. "Why can't he be? Because he wears a green tie?"

"Are you seriously contemplating taking him up on his offer?"

I shrugged.

Sawyer threw his hands into the air. "I love you, Essie, I really do, but how can you actually be thinking that what Malfoy said was an actual, honest offer?"

"He seems nice," I said.

" _Seems_ being the operative word there."

"If you want me to listen to you, why don't you tell me what your problem is with the Slytherin house? Because this isn't something you've been carrying around since first year, Sawyer. This is something recent."

"I'm your friend," he said. "Why can't you trust that what I'm saying is in your best interest without me having to explain everything?"

I sighed. "Let's stop talking about this. I hate fighting with you."

"And I hate fighting with you, Esther. We're always friends, no matter how much we disagree on this topic," he said.

"Good." 

We stood in silence in the middle of the corridor for a minute, other students jostling past us. Then Sawyer looked back up at me and shrugged. "Let's go get something to eat."

~~~

Holly sat sideways in the armchair in the library, her thumb keeping her place in her book as she thought. I had told her everything that had happened the day before, from my doubts about Cassie to Scorpius to my fight with Sawyer. 

"So?" I asked. A scroll of parchment sat on the table before me, a splotch of ink marring it from where I had left my quill while talking. I had only written a few sentences of the assignment in the hour I had been in the library, but it could wait.

Holly brushed some curls from her face and yawned. "Well, Essie, you've got a typical case of boy trouble."

I pulled a face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Like Sawyer warned, Scorpius probably has some an alterior motive for asking you if you need tutoring, but it's not that he wants his homework done and Quidditch info."

I didn't like where this was going. "What does he want then?"

"Like, kisses and stuff."

" _Kisses and stuff_ ," I repeated. "Great. Once again, your amazing repertoire of Ravenclaw knowledge leaves me astounded."

"Stop being sarcastic. I was being serious."

"What if he just wants to be friends?" I asked. "Why is it impossible for cute boys to be friendly? They can't all be after kisses and stuff."

Holly hit me over the head with her book and then wiggled her eyebrows at me. "So you think he's cute? Maybe it's not Malfoy that's after kisses, but _you_!"

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. I'm not very interested in dating."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Okay, sure."

"Imagine my parents' reactions if I did ever end up dating Scorpius," I said. "'Hey Mum, Dad, this is my wizard boyfriend. He's one of the Slytherins, who are notorious for being evil, and his grandparents were followers of Voldemort!'"

"You would be dead," Holly said.

"And if I came back as a ghost, they would find some way to kill me again."

Holly thought for a moment. "Maybe you should take Scorpius up on his offer. Find out whose right. Me, you, or Sawyer."

I shrugged. "I guess."

"I mean, as a Ravenclaw my logic is impeccable by default, but you two at least deserve a chance," she continued. "If it turns south you can always tell him to go jump in the lake and pretend like it never happened. No big deal."

She stretched her arms over her head, yawning again. "The Sawyer situation is a little harder to diagnose. I know he's definitely got some kind of issue with the Slytherins-"

"Well, obviously. That's basically what I just said."

"Now, now, Esther. No need to be mean about it. I'm thinking aloud. Brainstorming."

"Sure."

"I don't think Sawyer is going to tell us what's wrong until he's good and ready. You know him. The more you pry the more he clams up. So I'd shut up about it and wait for him to offer up more information. Until then, keep your relationship with Scorpius on the low down," she advised. "Only discuss it with me. Like spies or something."

"I don't have a relationship with Scorpius."

"Not yet," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes at her and gestured towards her textbook. "Despite your so-called impeccable logic, you still haven't finished those papers you were complaining about this morning," I said, picking my quill back up.

"Listening to your dilemmas is more important, Essie. You rarely ever get into any drama."

"Is this drama then?" I asked.

Holly shrugged. "Could be."


	7. Correspondence

After a particularly grueling Quidditch practice, I split off from my team on our way through the castle. They headed down one corridor towards the Dining Hall for supper, Mona and Posie with their arms around Cassie in support. There was always a member of the Quidditch team near Cassie, ready to comfort her or jinx offenders whenever necessary.

"Good work today, everybody," I said.

"Are you not coming to dinner?" Oliver asked. "You keep going on about us all eating our vegetables -"

"And our protein," Heather interjected. "For our _muscles_."

We all laughed.

"I'll be down in a bit. I need to run to the Owlery first. I haven't had much free time between classes and Quidditch."

"Yeah, we don't want your mum worrying too much about you," Oliver said. "Go send your letter."

They waved goodbye and I took the opposite turn towards the Owlery, to send my mother the first letter of the school year.

Dad doesn't like the idea of owls showing up at our house and potentially marring our respectable reputation in the respectable neighborhood, but my mother and I found a loophole sometime during the summer after my first year. Turns out that I'm not the only witch in the area. Ms. Thompson lives a few streets over from us and is married to a Muggle man. She is perfectly happy to act as a middle man for all the letters my mother and I want to exchange, and her only requirement is that I do some shopping for her in Hogsmeade on my visiting days. She sends me the money, and I'll send back the quills and Every Flavor Beans she wants. It's a good deal, and it keeps Dad in the dark. 

Pavo flies down as soon as I enter the Owlery. He pecks at my shoulder, annoyed that I haven't had time to visit him. I pull out a bread crust I saved from lunch and he eats it greedily and warms up to me again. The other owls in the place screeched and cam closer to investigate, but Pavo screeched louder and hopped onto my head to claim me as his own.

"Calm down, buddy," I said. "I've got a job for you, if you'll be patient and let me write for a minute."

I pull out a piece of parchment and my quill and sit down by the windowsill, using it as a desk as I write. 

_Dear Mum,_

_Schools been the same as usual so far this year. Potions and Magical Creatures classes are very good.  Both teachers have told me that they expect good N.E.W.T. results from me next year! Dark Arts is harder but Holly has offered to help me pass in exchange for tutoring her in Muggle Studies. She hardly needs my help, though; her only problem is her laziness._

_Sawyer is good as well, as are the other girls in my dormitory. Quidditch is not going so well. We lost our first match of the season, but there are many more. Being Captain is fun, but harder than I expected. Especially with our seeker, who is having a tough time with her confidence._

_I'll be visiting Hogsmeade in a fortnight, so tell Ms. Thompson to include her orders with your letter._ _Sorry this is so quick - I have barely had any time with constant Quidditch practice and essay writing. Now I'm missing dinner (don't worry - I'm eating enough!) and Pavo's pecking at my hand impatiently. I'll write a proper letter soon, I promise! How are you and Dad?_

_Love you, Essie_

_P.S. A Slytherin boy has been trying to make friends. Sawyer doesn't like him because of our different houses. I don't want to upset either of them. Any advice?_

Pavo notices me finishing and swoops over, holding his leg out obediently. I fold up the letter and tie it to him and then ruffle his feathers once more.

"You know where to go," I said. "Be nice to Ms. Thompson, and say hello to Mum for me if you see her."

I watched Pavo fly off into the setting sun, and then hurried down to try and make it to supper before the main courses were exchanged with dessert.

~~~

My mother's response was quicker than I had expected. Pavo swooped in with the other owls over breakfast the following weekend. He had two letters attached to his leg, and a few clippings from a Muggle newspaper, because my mum knew I liked to keep up with the news and that my pureblood friends were fascinated by everything nonmagical.

Sure enough, Sawyer grabbed a few of the newspaper articles from me before I could even glance at the headlines. He fed Pavo some toast as he looked through them. "Muggle news is so  _boring._ How do you even survive the summers?"

"By the skin of my teeth," I replied. I put the letters in my bag. Even though everyone along the Hufflepuff table was happily engaged in reading their own mail, I still felt uncomfortable reading personal letters with everyone around me. 

After breakfast, Sawyer, Holly and I headed onto the grounds to sit by the lake and work on some of our homework. Most of the other students were playing games, reading, or just talking, but being diligent Hufflepuffs, Sawyer and I generally preferred to at least  _look_ _like_ we were doing work. We settled by a tree on the banks of the lake and pulled out some books.

Holly was immediately absorbed by the newspapers, which she claimed counted as studying for her next Muggle Studies exam. "Look at this," Sawyer said, prodding a photo of the Prime Minister in the face. "The pictures don't even move!"

"You comment on the exact same things every single time my mother sends some newspaper clippings," I tell them. They're too busy marveling over the novelty of a car crash to pay much attention to me, though, so I pull out my letters and unfold the parchment carefully.

The first paper is from Ms. Thompson, asking for Chocolate Frogs and the newest Celestina Warbeck biography. I set this one aside and open the letter from Mum. I'm actually nervous to read it, because of the post script I added at the last minute about Scorpius. Her familiar, looping script comforts me though, and I take a deep breath before reading.

_Esther,_

_Dad and I are just fine, though missing our little girl!_ _I'm glad to know that your studies are going well, and I'm sure things will pick up for you in both Quidditch and Dark Arts. I know you, and you are a Hufflepuff through and through. You'll find a way to make the best of these situations in no time._

_It's your postscript that interests me the most, as I'm sure you're aware! You didn't include nearly enough information about this boy! Are you only going to be friends, or is there romance that you're omitting from your letters? I know why you would leave that out, of course. No mother should know_ too  _much, and you're worried about your father finding out about more of your wizard relationships. It's okay, Esther. I don't repeat a word of your letters to him, and I never will unless it's for your safety._

_As for advice, try and find out why Sawyer is against your friendship with this boy. Is his problem with this specific person, or with the Slytherin house overall? I'm sure that either way, he has a good reason for his opinion. But if he can't be reasoned with, remember that you can have friends in more than one group. You can budget your time between Sawyer and your new friend, as long as neither of them are selfish about their time with you!_

_Have a good time in Hogsmeade and a happy Halloween! Write again soon. If you need some pounds to convert to wizarding money, just ask._

_Mum_

It was nice to have an outside party to refer to, somebody that was undeniably and forever on my side. Mum always knew exactly what to say to cheer me up, and this letter hadn't failed. I had already been following half of her advice, after all, in trying to get Sawyer to open up about his dislike of the Slytherins. My stomach turned at the words  _romance that you're ommitting_ as I remembered the conversation I had had with Holly.  _Kisses and stuff._

"You're awfully engrossed in that letter, Essie," Holly said. "What did your Mum say?"

"Nothing much," I said, "but it's nice to get something from home every now and again."

Sawyer wrinkled his nose. "My dads haven't sent me anything yet."

"I'm sure they will," I reassured him.

"Yeah, but it'll probably be something awful, like a single Berty Botts bean."

Holly and I laughed, remembering the running joke Sawyer's dads played on him. They liked to include a single bean in their letters to their son, often checking beforehand to make sure the flavor was one of utmost disgust. The most recent beans had been rotten fish, mold, and dust bunny.

"I'm hoping more than anything that they send you something soon," Holly said.

"Oh, shut up."

~~~

I was alone in the dormitory the next day, composing a full length letter to Mum, putting down everything I could remember about Quidditch try outs and our first match. It wasn't nice to rehash some of the feelings about it that I had managed to bury, but I knew that putting it down on paper would probably get it out of my head once and for all.

I was writing about comforting Cassie in her dormitory when there was a rapping on the window. At first I ignored it and dipped my quill back into my ink, but the rapping persisted. I rose from my bed and crossed the room, throwing open the window. A small, black owl flew through and landed on Midha's bedside table, dropping a scrap of parchment from it's beak.

"Is this for me?" I asked, but I knew that the owls never got recipients mixed up. I ignored the owl's expectant look and sat down on Midha's bed to read the message. It was scrawled in a tilted, messy handwriting and the ink was slightly smudged. The parchment had probably been torn from the corner of an old essay or something.

_Hi! Going to hogsmeade next weekend? I can meet you at honeydukes. If you want! (and my offer about DADA tutoring still stands!) - SM_

_P.S. Send a message back with atalanta?_

Scorpius.

I put the paper somewhere deep inside my bag and then got out an old essay of my own, ripping off the corner of it, to match his classy messenging style. I wondered if he was in the Owlery right now, waiting for a reply.

_Sawyer doesn't like you much, though I'm sure you know that. If he has other plans, I'll see you at Honeydukes. Maybe we can talk about the tutoring then. - ED_

_P.S. Why all the interest in me all of a sudden? We've been in classes together for six years._

I tied the note to Atalanta's leg and sent her into the sky once again. Sure enough, she flew in the direction of the Owlery. I remembered when I went to Muggle elementary school and used to be jealous of the kids with their cellphones, who could text each other whenever they wanted. I laughed. I was engaging in the wizard version of text messaging.

My mother's letter lay forgotten on my bed as I waited patiently by the window for Atalanta's return. When she did, I took her letter, unsurprisingly written on another mangled scrap of parchment, and unfolded it.

_maybe I've always been interested in being your friend? Also we're quidditch rival captains, which helps but i'm not looking for any inside hufflepuff info, i promise. I'd better see you at honeydukes next weekend. -SM_

_We'll see! Please feed Atalanta a lot of treats for me. She doesn't seem amused by our messages and I have nothing to feed her! -ED_

I sat expectantly by the window for a few minutes but no further response came back. I wandered back to my letter to my mother, but found that I was no longer in the mood for writing to her. Instead, I packed it into my trunk for the time being and went down to the Common Room to find some other Hufflepuffs to talk with, keeping my written conversation with Scorpius a quiet secret for the time being.

~~~

Halfway through the week, only three days until I was supposed to meet Scorpius in Honeydukes, Sawyer and I went to the library together to find resources for a Potions essay. We worked hard for an hour or so, but then I pulled out some scrap parchment and sent him a quick note.

_Rethought telling me about your Slytherin problem?_

**_no_ **

_Come on! You have to tell me._

**_Why are you so interested? I don't want to tell you end of story_ **

_You're not usually like this. It's something new. I'm worried about you!_

**_you want to be friends with malfoy_ **

_That too. But mostly worried about you._

**_sure._ **

_It's true!_

**_the answer is still no and it will not change by pestering me_ **

_Don't you trust me?_

Sawyer scowled down at the parchment and then up at me. Both of us had abandoned our essays by this time. 

"You can't play that card here, Essie. I am your friend, yes. I trust you, yes. But I don't feel comfortable sharing every little thing with you."

"This is important to me," I whispered. "I can't have you breaking up all of my conversations with Scorpius when I have no idea why you're doing it."

Sawyer looked down.

"If you have a good reason, then I can accept your behavior. I'd make my relationship with him private, or end it altogether if it's something bad enough. You do come first, Sawyer, but you're being a bit irrational."

Sawyer abruptly stood up and gathered up his books, dumping them unceremoniously into his bag. "I've got to go ask Professor Longbottom a question about our Herbology assignment," he said gruffly. Then he shouldered his bag and hurried out of the room.

I let him go, knowing that my approach probably wasn't the most tactful. I remembered my mum's letter, and I knew she was right that Sawyer was hiding things for a good reason. I just wished he would share, so Holly and I could cast a few jinxes or buy him lots of sweets and make him feel better as soon as possible. He was often the one comforting us, not the other way around, and I was starting to really worry about him.

I held my quill over my parchment for a long time without writing anything, instead spending the time thinking. I tried to recall as many past encounters we had had with the Slytherins, but couldn't turn up very much. Then again, Sawyer was raised in a magical family and lived in a wizard only neighborhood, so he could have had any number of nasty Slytherin-related things happening over the summers when I was stuck in the Muggle world.

I didn't want to pry into Sawyer's life if he didn't want me to, but I also felt that uncovering what he was hiding would be the key to solving his problem, whatever it was.

A plan started to formulate in my head. Well, it wasn't much of a groundbreaking, earth shattering plan so much as a scheme to try and find out what was wrong with my friend. Sawyer was the only one who knew what had happened or was happening to him regarding the Slytherins...except the Slytherins themselves.

I resolved myself to visit Honeydukes on Saturday. I had known in the back of my head that I wasn't going to turn Scorpius down, but now I had a legitimate excuse to see him.


	8. Hogsmeade

The days were getting shorter and colder, so before leaving the dormitory I pulled on my sweater and stuck a scarf and hat in my bag. Felicia and Claudette were excitedly planning their day in Hogsmeade as we headed down to breakfast. I passed Cassie on the way out and gave her a wave. Because it was nearly Halloween and our first Hogsmeade trip of the school year, I had given the team the weekend off from Quidditch practice. I was team captain, not a tyrant, and everybody had been working so diligently recently that they deserved a break.

After breakfast, most of the students filed through the exit, had their name crossed off the list by a Professor, and then continued along the path towards Hogsmeade. There was a continuous stream of students heading into town, all chatting happily and bundling up against the late autumn chill.

"We're definitely getting a butterbeer," Holly said.

"Absolutely," I said. "No matter how many pubs I go to in the Muggle world, not a single one compares to the Three Broomsticks."

"You can't beat a good butterbeer," Sawyer agreed. "I'm going to drink about five."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "I bet I could drink more."

"Bet you couldn't."

"Oh, you are so on."

I separated the two of them. "You're being ridiculous," I said. "I could drink twice as much as the two of you combined."

They laughed. We had arrived in the town by now and the students spread out, the doors to shops constantly opening to admit new arrivals. Honeydukes and Zonkos Joke Shop were by far the most popular but Holly and Sawyer led me into the Three Broomsticks before I could get a good enough look to see if Scorpius was outside Honeydukes. I hoped he wasn't waiting for me just yet.

Holly and I trailed Sawyer through the dark interior of the Three Broomsticks. There weren't many open tables and Sawyer led us past them. He rejected one covered in empty glasses and at the next one he noticed the Slytherin students sitting nearby and turned bright red and rushed past. We finally sat down at a table in the middle of the boisterous pub. The place was full of local townspeople and Hogwarts students alike and the air was full of talking and the clinking of mugs. Sawyer ordered three butterbeers and when they arrived, he pushed his own galleons across the table.

"You don't have to pay," Holly said. "Esther and I are perfectly capable of paying for ourselves."

"You can buy the rest of them if you're going to complain," Sawyer replied, grinning.

We sat in the cozy, warm, noisy pub for a while, talking about nothing and taking turns buying rounds of butterbeer. Then we relinquished our table to some fourth years and headed back outside. I pulled out my hat, a ridiculous blue fluffy thing with a big pompom on top, and pulled it down over my ears. It was only October, but I was always prone to getting cold.

"Where to now?" Holly asked, looking around. Most of the crowds from earlier had dissipated. Down the street the door to Zonkos burst open and something came whizzing out, followed by a crowd of boys. Holly pulled a face. "Not that way."

"As prefect, shouldn't you go and monitor their behavior?" I asked. "You can't have them bringing explosvie jokes back to the castle or the professors will go mental."

Holly groaned. "As long as they don't pull any pranks in the Common Room, they're doing nothing wrong."

Sawyer laughed. "Worst prefect ever."

"I will have you know that I have handed out a total of three detentions to some second year brats," Holly said. "I won't hesitate to use my prefect abilities when necessary."

"Yeah, it's necessary when she wants to use the fancy bathroom or get back at younger students who annoy her," Sawyer whispered to me. I chuckled.

Holly rolled her eyes at us. "Oh, grow up. Where do you want to go?" she asked.

"I actually wouldn't mind looking in Zonkos," Sawyer said. "Then I'm going to check the post office, because there still hasn't been a single Bertie Botts Bean from my dads."

"You two go on ahead," I said. "I've got to do my shopping for Mrs. Thompson."

"Okay! We'll meet you back by the Three Broomsticks later!" They waved and headed off down the street, disappearing into Zonkos and leaving me alone on the street except for a Gryffindor couple holding hands and wandering around.

I was nervous now, but wasn't exactly sure why. I walked down road towards Honeydukes, trying to look more dignified than I felt. Scorpius wasn't outside so I opened the door and walked into the glow of the sweet shop. The place was crowded with students sampling all sorts of Muggle sweets. I pushed past most of them to get to the chocolate frogs. I could at least get the shopping done as I waited.

I was back on the street in a few minutes, my purchases safely stowed in my bag. A group of students walked past, walking back to the castle. No Scorpius yet. I hoped that I hadn't somehow gotten the days mixed up, or had missed him. I stood outside Honeydukes, feeling awkward and my apprehension growing.

I heard some more students coming along, but didn't pay them any attention. They were talking enthusiastically, their voices growing louder as they approached, but then the noise cut off. I looked up and found myself face to face with Rose Weasley and Albus Potter.

"Hello," Rose said, breaking the silence.

"Hi," I said. "Oh, sorry. I'm kind of blocking the entrance." I picked up my bag and shuffled over to my right a bit, giving them space to go on past me.

"Thanks," Rose said. Neither she nor Albus moved, though.

"How's Quidditch practice going?" I asked Albus, unable to stand the awkward pause we were having. I figured Quidditch was a safe subject that we could both talk about with ease.

Albus shrugged. "It's going fine. We're playing your team next, right?"

"Yeah. Hopefully our seeker performs a bit better. Otherwise we won't stand a chance."

Albus grinned. "Not many teams can stand a chance. You saw us against Slytherin, right?"

Trash talking was a game I could play, and I felt a grin spread across my face as well. "That was a narrow victory, Albus. It looked like a clear Slytherin win for most of the match. Your keeper could use some work."

"Oh, no way. We were on top and you know it."

"Not so sure about that, Potter." 

Rose, Albus, and I turned and saw Scorpius standing there in a dark green sweater and a huge smile. "You came out on top fair and square, but Slytherin put up a good fight."

"That's not what I saw from my goal posts, Malfoy," Albus said, and I was surprised to hear no malice in his voice, only teasing. I had assumed he had inherited his father's hatred for Scorpius, as he had his father's hatred for Dursleys, but maybe I had assumed wrong.

"I would be surprised if you _could_ see it, considering how much faster my team's brooms are," Scorpius retorted, his voice equally devoid of venom.

"Then how come the Gryffindors caught the snitch, huh?"

Rose rolled her eyes and moved towards the door, ignoring me as she went past. "I've had enough of this Quidditch banter. I'm going inside, Albus."

Albus sighed and waved goodbye, following his cousin into the shop. I stepped towards him, returning his grin.

"Glad you could make it after all, Esther," Scorpius said. "I like your hat."

Selfconsciously, I reached up and prodded the giant pompom, blushing red.

"Anywhere in particular you want to go?"

I shrugged. "Do you want to just walk around?"

"Sure."

We ambled up towards the Shrieking Shack together and stopped towards the top of the hill. Scorpius leaned against the fence and I stood next to him, both of us staring at the dilapidated building. There had been talk of tearing it down a few years ago, but left it up as a tribute to Remus Lupin and his friends, all of whom died in the efforts against Voldemort.

"So," I said. "What Quidditch secrets are you going to try and weed out of me?"

Scorpius grinned. "From the way you were trash talking with Potter, I'd assumed your practices were going well."

"Are you friends with Albus?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Not great friends, but we're friendly. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. And the team is definitely improving."

"Even your difficult seeker?"

"Cassie's doing okay," I said. "I still need to find something to boost her confidence."

"You're good at Potions," he said. "You could try and whip something up."

"That would be cheating, Scorpius. I don't want to resolve to using magic. I want it to be fair, for her to gain confidence the natural way. It'll be more beneficial that way." I sighed. "I think the best cure for her would be a victory, but it's ironic because she needs the confidence in the first place to catch the snitch." 

Of course the first thing that came to mind was Harry Potter. Every biography I've ever read about him has included a very detailed description of how he caught his first snitch by almost swallowing it. I wished something serendipitious like that could happen for Cassie, except Harry actually managed to chase the snitch before it ended up in his mouth, and that was more than Cassie had managed to do so far.

Scorpius was thinking, too. "That's a tough predicament."

"It really is. I'm working on it, though, and the other members of my team are thinking hard as well."

"And Defense Against the Dark Arts? How's that going?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "I knew that was going to come up sooner rather than later. How come you're so hardpressed on tutoring me? You're not expecting me to pay you for it or something, are you?"

He turned red and shook his head emphatically. "Absolutely not! Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I'd -"

"Sorry, Scorpius. I was joking, but it was an awful joke," I said. 

He looked down. "Sorry for overreacting. It's just...I'm always held to the Slytherin stereotype of being awful, cheating, and mean. But I'm not really like that. Cunning and maybe too proud for my own good, yes, but not evil."

"Oh," I said. "Sawyer and I always talk about stuff along those lines, but I never really thought about other houses experiencing hatred for their stereotypes."

"Slytherins aren't evil," Scorpius said.

"Hufflepuffs aren't the losers that don't fit into the other houses," I said.

"Not all Gryffindors are egoistical rebels."

"Not every Ravenclaw is aloof and pretentious." I thought of Holly and added, "And some of them are pretty lazy when it comes to schoolwork."

Scorpius turned to look me in the eye. "Part of the reason I'm so set on being your friend is because I could kind of see that you're trying to break the stereotypes, too. You have friends in other houses and you're working hard to make your Quidditch team the best it can be, to show the school what your house can really do."

"I could see the same in you."

"It's funny, because nobody really fits into these stereotypes we've laid out," he continued. "I don't know a single Slytherin that fits the mold the rest of the school puts on us."

I nodded. "That's why I'm so set on trying to get rid of them."

"So," Scorpius said, raising an eyebrow, "why not get really good at Defense Against the Dark Arts to show everybody that the Hufflepuffs aren't weak after all? Learn some strong blocking spells and some curses and then challenge everyone to duels to strut your stuff."

I laughed. "You're really not going to give up on that, are you?"

"Never," he said. "I'm sure there are empty classrooms we could practice in, and I'm willing to meet you at any odd hour of the day to help."

My smile disappeared as Holly's voice came into mind.  _Kisses and stuff_. I looked at Scorpius and his eager expression and felt poison creeping through my veins.

"You're not...asking for anything in return, are you?"

He shrugged. "Nothing except your friendship. Maybe some help with Potions or something every once in a while."

"Not..." I had to refrain from actually saying  _kisses and stuff_ aloud. "You're not...flirting in any way?"

Scorpius went bright red and I could feel my own face heat up as well. "N-no," he stammered. "Sorry, did I come across as -"

"You're fine," I said, laughing awkwardly to try and dissipate some of the tension. "I was only making sure. My friend has a tendency to jump to conclusions on that sort of thing and I guess she's rubbing off on me."

"Okay." He smiled again after a while, his coloring mostly back to normal. "Are you going to take me up on my completely platonic tutoring or not?"

"Fine, you've got yourself a deal," I said.

He stuck out his hand and, laughing, we shook on it. 

"If Sawyer still resents my presence, then I'll respect that and send you a message through Atalanta again," he said.

"Okay, but I'd advise getting some better parchment. Maybe improve your handwriting a bit. Half of your notes were barely legible."

"I can read it fine," he said indignantly. "It was your perfect script that I had a tough time reading."

I looked down the hill, where most of the students were heading back towards the castle in bunches of twos or threes. I could see Sawyer, Holly, and Midha walking along to the Three Broomsticks deep in conversation and my heart leapt into my chest as I remembered that I was supposed to be meeting them there.

Scorpius noticed my panic and shook his head teasingly, having noticed them coming as well. "No need to overreact, Esther. Go down and meet them. I'll wait up here until you've gone, so Sawyer doesn't ever have to see me."

"I was going to ask you about that, actually," I said. "Do you have any idea why he hates you Slytherins all of a sudden? And thanks for going along with it so willingly."

"No problem," he said, "and I have no idea, but I could try and find out if you want. I'll keep an ear open in the Common Room."

"Thanks so much."

"Again, no problem. You should probably go now."

It didn't feel right just to leave him, especially after he had been nothing but considerate, even though keeping our relationship a secret was completely ridiculous and he had every right to get angry at me for playing along with Sawyer. But he wasn't mad.

"You're going to miss them," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Thanks again, Scorpius," I said. I threw my arms around him briefly, my cheek to the soft fabric of his sweater and the pompom on my ridiculous hat tickling his chin. Then I waved goodbye and ran down the hill to meet my friends. My other friends.


	9. Tutoring

"Okay, one more time."

I groaned in protest but Holly pleaded with puppy dog eyes and I couldn't say no. "A pen is used for writing," I said slowly.

"I know _that_ part," she said.

"It's sort of like a quill."

"Got it."

"You don't have to dip the quill in ink."

"Okay."

"The ink is inside the pen."

Holly stared blankly at me for a moment or two, and then popped back into action, scribbling something on her sheet of notes. "I think I've got it. You could've easily explained it as a quill that never runs out of ink, but okay, whatever works."

"It does run out of ink, though. Eventually."

Holly gave me a look of despair and then banged her head against the desk. "Why do Muggles have to make everything so  _complicated_."

I shook my head at her, laughing. "I'll get Mum to send me one so you can see."

She perked up right away. "Do you think I could get extra credit if I brought it to the professor?"

"Maybe some points towards the House Cup."

"That would be totally worth all this nonsense Muggle Studies is putting me through," Holly said. "Hey, do you need any help with Defense?"

I felt myself turn red. "Not really. I've -"

"You're going to accept Scorpius's offer!" she cried.

"Shhh," I said, clamping my hand over her mouth and looking around the library at the students absorbed in their books. "There's no need to yell that for the whole school to hear."

She pried my hand off her mouth and looked earnestly at me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Sorry, Essie. I'm only excited."

"I've accepted his offer actually," I said.

Holly squealed, but before she could say anything, I added, "And I asked. He said it was all totally platonic. He freaked out and apologized when I suggested his intentions could possibly be romantic. You were completely wrong."

"Sure," she said, rolling her eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean? You don't believe me?"

"No, I don't believe _him_ ," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because you're a gorgeous, single girl with pretty red hair and a nice personality who isn't afraid of him being all Slytherin and evil."

"What?"

"And you play Quidditch, which probably helps."

I shook my head. "No. He doesn't like me like that."

"Please," she said. "Anybody would be lucky to have you."

"It's not like that. He said he only wanted to be friends."

Holly looked away, shrugging. "That's what they all say."

"Well, I, for one, believe him."

"Why?"

"He hasn't given me a reason not to."

Holly grinned and reached over to squeeze my hand. "Okay, let's stop fighting about it. I'm sure we'll find out either way in no time. So, when are you going to meet up with him?"

"He sent me an owl on Halloween," I said. "We're going to meet after Quidditch practice on Wednesday. I'm going to meet him by the Great Hall and he said he found an empty classroom where we can study together."

Holly clapped her hands. "I'm excited for you, Essie. Remember absolutely every moment of that meeting, okay? Because we're going to ditch Sawyer somewhere and you're going to fill me in on every second."

~~~

After the rest of the Quidditch team had been dismissed, Cassie, Hugo, and I stayed on for our extra time together. The two of them had become pretty good friends during the fifteen minutes after regular practice that we spent together, and I was glad to see it. As Hugo tried to score on me, he would shout encouragement at Cassie, who would dart around the clouds doing different exercises to improve her broom handling.

Hugo lobbed the quaffle at me and I snatched it from the air, a mere centimeter from one of my posts. "Your aim is much better, but you could still add a bit more strength to your throw," I advised. I tossed the quaffle back and he set his mouth in a determined line as he sped towards the posts for another shot.

Although Cassie was doing noticeably better, she was nowhere near as good of a seeker as the other houses had. One by one in private, the other members of my squad had been approaching me in various levels of despair and with a plethora of awful and complicated ideas for getting Cassie to improve. None of the ideas were put in to action yet, but we had pretty much unanimously agreed that Cassie wasn't going to catch the snitch without some kind of divine intervention.

As Hugo went into a nosedive to fetch the falling quaffle, I looked up at Cassie with Mona's words from a few days before ringing in my ears:  _I've seen five year old players in the Quidditch Little Leagues who could catch the snitch better than she can._

Mona had been disgrunted and tired, but the more I watched Cassie and the closer we came to our match against Gryffindor, the less like an exaggeration her words seemed.

Distracted, I didn't notice Hugo and the quaffle sailed past me, straight through a hoop. Hugo whooped and did a victory lap around me. 

"You only got through because I wasn't paying attention," I said.

"Sure," he said, rolling his eyes. 

I grinned. "Nice shot."

As I pulled up from my dive to get the quaffle, I noticed somebody sitting alone in the stands. Ball in hand, I swooped over, pulling to a stop just above the student.

"I thought I was meeting you by the Great Hall," I said.

Scorpius shrugged. "I figured I could just meet you here."

"Are you sure you're not trying to find out ways to take us down in Quidditch?"

"I thought if I saw your seeker during some practice that I could better brainstorm ideas to help you," he said.

"You don't have to help me with that, Scorpius. You're the opposition."

"I know, but I want our match to be fair," he said. "And you're my friend, remember?"

Hugo came racing over and he waved to Scorpius before turning to me. "Cassie and I are packing up. Is that okay?"

"Of course," I said, tossing him the quaffle. "Nice work today, Hugo."

Scorpius and I watched the two of them land and walk towards the changing rooms together, brooms in their hands and the box of Quidditch balls in Hugo's arms.

"She's small, which is good for a seeker," Scorpius said.

"Oh, I've had enough of thinking about it," I told him. "Let's go practice some Defense and I can see once and for all how good of a teacher you are."

~~~

We started out with the O.W.L. level spells we had needed to know to pass the exams last year, forgetting for now the harder N.E.W.T. level ones we had been learning in Defense more recently. We cleared the desks in the classroom to the side so there was an open space in the middle, and then we pulled out our wands.

"Stun me," Scorpius said.

I hesitated.

"Go on."

I looked at him, his bad posture and untied tie around his neck and lifted my wand slightly, but didn't open my mouth to say the spell. I knew how to do it, of course, but nerves were keeping me from casting the spell.

"Do you remember the -"

" _Stupefy_!" 

Scorpius was caught off guard and was unable to block the spell. He was jolted backwards and felllanded with a thud on the floor. There was a brief, quiet moment in which my heart beat in fear, but then the spell wore off and he threw his head back, laughing.

I grinned and offered him my hand, pulling him to his feet. "I remember the spells," I said. 

"Obviously you do," he said. "Nicely done. I guess you just need a little provoking to get you moving."

"Maybe," I said, shrugging. "I don't like it when people underestimate me."

"And you shouldn't. Let's try it again and see if I can block it this time."

 We practiced stunning for a bit, but then moved on to _petrificus totalus_ , which I had a much harder time with. It was a mouthful, for one, and Scorpius wasn't going to let his guard down like he had the first time. I quickly got frustrated when I hadn't body binded him even once, while he had hit me nearly a dozen times when it was my turn to try and block.

"I can't do this," I said after the thirteenth time, rubbing some feeling back into my arm. Being unable to counter his jinxes was embarrassing, especially when he had to unfreeze me every single time. I pulled myself to my feet and looked at my wand unhappily. "I'm clealry not cut out for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Scorpius crossed his arms. "Hypocrite."

I became defensive at once. "What did you call me?"

"A hypocrite. Think about it, Esther. You've told me again and again about how you're trying to convince your seeker of her worth, but you're doing the same thing she is right now. What that girl says about her seeking ability is what you're doing with Defense."

I was stunned, and not by a spell this time. 

Scorpius gave me a victorious smile. "That's enough for one day. Let's meet up again next week. Same time?"

~~~

I shivered out on the Quidditch pitch, but whether that was because of the November chill or nerves, I couldn't tell. My team stood in a straight line, a mixture of emotions on their faces, facing their red robed counterparts. I looked up into the stands and saw a group of Hufflepuffs wearing yellow scarves and waving banners, enchanted to glow yellow and change it's encouragements every few seconds. On the opposite side of the stand were Gryffindor supporters, their garb red and a group roaring enthusiastically.

Cassie looked nervously in my direction from her spot on the opposite end of the Hufflepuff line up and I gave her a grin and a thumbs up. Heather gave her a friendly pat on the back and then the whistle sounded, sending the players into the air and the crowd into loud chants and cheering.

We had worked out a rudimentary plan for the game, so we would at least have a chance if Cassie panicked and gave up the snitch. Geronimo and Heather were on duty to follow the bludgers and to make sure our opposition's seeker was kept occupied, distracting her from her true duty of catching the snitch. 

Hugo, Mona, and Oliver kept good possession over the quaffle, keeping Albus occupied at the other set of goalposts so I didn't have to do very much except keep watch for the first part of the game. All of the extra practice had evidently paid off, as Hugo scored and set the Hufflepuffs screaming in delight.

Midha's brother, Rehmat, was obviously biased for today's game. "A nice shot, I'll give Weasley that, but Potter's saved every other shot his cousin has sent his way so far today. Not a surprise either - both of Potter's parents played Quidditch while Hugo's father was briefly a keeper and -"

Ignoring Rehmat's commentary, I gave Hugo a proud smile. I was happy that all the effort he was putting in was making a different. So far, though, I couldn't tell how Cassie was doing, and if her practice had helped very much at all. She circled overhead, keeping an eye out for the snitch. Her broom movements were a lot more fluid, so she didn't look as awkward flying around. I just hoped she was focusing enough to help us win the game.

I saved a shot and then let one in, making the scores even. I tossed the quaffle to Mona but a bludger flew straight at her and she impulsively dove out of the way, sending the quaffle flying over her head. The bludger actually hit the quaffle instead of Mona, and while the crowd roared, the bludger went whirling back in the opposite direction and the quaffle shot high into the air. Oliver swooped by, beating a Gryffindor chaser to the ball, and zoomed off down the other end, the opposition close behind.

"First time I've seen the bludgers hit the quaffle like that, but the players took it well. It's Dunlop...It's Dice...Weasley...Dunlop...Weasley....A nice bludger sent towards Weasley, who makes a quick pass back to Dunlop...Nice interception by the Gryffindors! Good job, lads! It's heading the other way, back towards Dursley now."

The game dragged on for longer than usual. The chasers racked up points until us Hufflepuffs led fifty to thirty, but there had still be no sign of the snitch. At least that meant we hadn't lost yet, and that Cassie was at least matching the competency of the Gryffindor seeker, for now.

I could barely get the thought through my mind, though, when both seekers suddenly raced towards the clouds, climbing up until they were tiny specs in the sky. The crowd all stood, straining their necks to try and see what was going on. Rehmat was handed a pair of binoculars and his voice boomed across the pitch as he told us what was going on. The game back by the goalposts continued on, though slowed as everyone listened to what was going on up above.

"I can't see the snitch but the two seekers must be able to, because there's definitely something going on up there. They're neck and neck, still spiraling up to dizzing heights! Oh, I just caught a glimpse of gold! And - OH!"

The crowd gasped as suddenly the seekers were diving back towards the pitch at a breakneck speed, quickly coming back into sight. Their Quidditch robes billowed behind, red just a hair before yellow, an unmistakable flash of gold leading them down and towards my end of the pitch.

It was unfortunate, really, that the Gryffindor beater should have torn his eyes away from the spectacle long enough to make a swing at a bludger. It could have been luck or just pure aim, but Rehmat didn't even have time to commentate before the bludger made impact. Cassie was knocked from her broom and sent toppling over the Gryffindor seeker, whose fingers just managed to close around the snitch.

~~~

"You were great, Cassie."

"Most definitely. It was great fun to watch!"

Cassie shifted in her bed in the Hospital Wing and frowned down at her bandaged stomach. Three cracked ribs from bludger impact, and quite a few bruises. "Fun to watch, but not fun to experience. And fun to watch isn't winning the match, either."

"It doesn't matter that we lost. You're definitely improving," I said.

The rest of the team quickly nodded in agreement from their various positions perched on or around Cassie's bed. We had rushed up to visit Cassie as soon as she awoke, bringing with us offerings of chocolate frogs and get well cards. She hadn't touched her sweets at all, and I'd had to use an angry glare to keep Mona and Geronimo from starting on them.

"The whole team saw an improvement from our first game," I continued. "Hugo is throwing much more accurately, Heather and Oliver are working more in sync, and the whole team has learned to work together as one unit. By our next match, we'll be even better."

"Our next match is against Slytherin," Mona muttered to Oliver. "I doubt Scorpius is going to let Hufflepuffs beat his dream team."

I glared at Mona, silencing her immediatley. I turned back to our injured seeker, my face kinder. "Your hard work is paying off, Cassie," I said. I thought of what Scorpius had told me, about my being a hypocrite. "All you need is a bit more confidence in yourself, and you'll achieve amazing things."

"Where am I going to get confidence from?" Cassie asked, frowning at each member of the team in turn.

I stood up with a start, probably red with fury. My team recoiled, looking at me with shock in their expressions. I didn't care anymore. I was done trying to do things the nice way.

"Look, just becasue the rest of the shool expects us to fail and to lose, doesn't mean we have to live up to their expectations. I was excited to be named captain this year because I hoped it meant I could put together a team good enough to win. And I did. Every single one of you is perfectly capable of bringing this team to victory. Yes, even you, Cassie. All I need is a little cooperation, optimism, and most importantly, confidence in yourself. You're all great Quidditch players. Act like it."

I stormed out of the room, leaving my team open mouthed. As soon as I was out of sight, I stopped and laughed. Getting angry had been the right thing. My words would stick in their head like Scorpius's had done in mine, and it was something they weren't likely to forget anytime soon.

I just hoped it would make the difference.


	10. World Cup Theories

Scorpius and I met again the following week. This time he didn't come by Quidditch practice, but waited for me inside the castle. I walked up with Hugo and Cassie after our extra few minutes of practicing together, then waved goodbye when I saw Scorpius leaning against the wall, his bag hanging over one shoulder.

"Do you always have to look like that?" I asked.

"Like what?"

"Like you've got all the time in the world," I said. "I don't know how to explain it, but you look almost...pretentious."

"I am nothing if not pretentious," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "It's more or less a Malfoy trait."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, being pretentious means you're trying to talk up skills you don't have, and I'm pretty sure you have the talent you say you do. You're just being honest, even if it comes out sounding like boasting sometimes."

I thought for a moment as we headed down the hall to our empty classroom. "You don't look pretentious. You always look like you've got the world in your hands, and you're trying to decide exactly what you want to do with it. Part boasting, part thoughtful."

He grinned. "I think you just about summed me up, Miss Dursley."

"Let's see if you can do the same for me."

"Oh, you're easy," he said.

I raised an eyebrow.

He rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes at me, to try and look thoughtful. "Let's see. Your back is always straight and your robes are always immaculate. You never so much as unbutton a button or leave your tie untied, like most other students do. I'm assuming it's becuase your parents are Muggles and you've got to prove yourself. Not to mention overcoming some of those Hufflepuff stereotypes you detest so much." He looked me up and down. "So you look like someone being pulled twelve different ways at once. Someone who doesn't know which goal she should work at first, and so she tries to achieve them all at once."

I was silent for a moment, and then begrudgingly gave him a brief applause. "You know me exceptionally well, Mister Malfoy."

"Told you," he said. "Now, on to the actual work?"

It was tiring work, and mostly tedious. We had moved on from stunning spells, but only onto ones that hurt more when I didn't succeed in blocking them. It wasn't until I had knocked him over half a dozen times in a row that he deemed me good enough for his standards. Sore from falling to the ground repeatedly, we sat together, taking a break and talking. This was the only time we could openly talk to one another, because Sawyer limited our interaction during the day.

I sat on top of a desk, my bag besides me and my legs swinging. One of my shoelaces had come untied but I didn't bother fixing it, but made a game of flining it around by rotating my foot. Scorpius sat in a chair in front of me, leaning on the closest desk, his hair a mess, rolling his wand across the tabletop so it made a soothing clattering noise. Through the window I could see the sky darkening from a gray to black, the trees of the Forbidden Forest fading into the night.

"How's Cassie doing?" he asked.

"She's out of the Hospital Wing, if that's what you mean. I gave her and the rest of the team a bit of a motivational speech, though it came out sounding a bit more threatening than I had intended. She didn't try and buy her way out of classes like I thought she was going to do, but headed back as soon as her ribs were healed."

"That's a good sign."

"I hope so," I said. "That's two games we've lost, and I really don't want to lose to you."

Scorpius laughed. "I feel like I want to offer you advice, because I want to see Hufflepuff do well this year, but I also want nothing more than to crush you in a landslide victory."

"No landslides. You can win by a couple points, but if we drastically lose another match, that's going to be the end of our Quidditch season."

"Don't say that."

"It's true. Yes, there will be more games to play, but Cassie's confidence was lacking to begin with and we may as well not even field a seeker if we lose another match. She'll blame herself, I know she will, and I'll blame myself for that."

"You'll figure it out. And if it's not for this year, well, you're still team captain next year. There'll be new students to try out and take Cassie's position. Or maybe some kind of miracle will occur and she'll be granted exceptional snitch catching abilitles overnight. Whip up a potion or find a spell." Scorpius shrugged. "It's not the end of the world if you lose."

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Undefeated," I said.

He grinned.

"And I thought you knew me really well! To me, losing may as well be the end of the world. I set my eyes on this goal and I have to reach it."

"Why?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to let you state something and not back it up with hard evidence," said Scorpius. "Come on, I'm curious. Why exactly do you want to win so badly?"

"Because Hufflepuff is glanced over and underestimated, and winning the cup would help dispell a lot of that."

"Good, but that's only one reason."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him, and he sat up, raising his eyebrows back.

"I highly suspect there are deeper reasons to it," he said.

"How could you possibly know?"

"I know you, remember?"

"Fine," I said. "I guess I want to win because I need to prove myself as a muggleborn witch as much as I need to prove myself as a Hufflepuff. Where magic is concerned, I've always been on the back foot."

I glanced at Scorpius, sizing up his reaction, and sighed. "There's an even more personal reason, too. The Potter and Weasley family seem to hold me in a bad light because my dad's family pretty much abused Harry. I had nothing to do with it, and maybe their hatred of me is more imagined than real, but I still feel like I need to establish a solid, positive relationship with them before my time at Hogwarts is over. Quidditch is common ground besides our Harry Potter connection, and I've got a good friendship forming with Hugo. I hoped that if I won, or at least improved the team, I could get them to respect me, and to want to be friends."

"You were talking pretty happily with Albus in Hogsmeade when I came up," he said.

"You got there right when it started to become a bit less awkward."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. I don't think the Potters really have anything against me. They're just as awkward about the whole thing as I am, because we feel like we have to conform to our parents' relationship. It's all completely ridiculous."

"I think it's the same with my own relationship with Albus, Rose, and that," he said. "You're really good at that, Esther. Seeing from your enemy's perspective."

"The Potters aren't my enemies. That's kind of the whole point of the matter."

Scorpius shrugged. "Either way, that skill will can come in handy for Defense if you can learn how to use it. You can empathize with them emotionally, but if you can learn to empathize with them in other ways, it'll almost be like mind reading. You can predict where your opponent will go, what he will do."

"Sort of like deduction, I guess." I grinned at him. "You're probably the only person in the world that would make an observation like that."

"And you're probably the only person in the world who would appreciate it."

"And that," I told him," is why we're friends."

Scorpius's face was serious as he nodded. "It's hard, isn't it? Being compared unfairly to relatives, when you had no influence over their actions, really gets on my nerves, too."

I hadn't thought about it before, but it all made sense. Many of his relatives were - at the very least - highly suspected to have been Death Eaters. He was a Slytherin, maybe the most stereotyped house other than Hufflepuff. Sawyer surely had categorized him by those two attributes, and I knew for a fact that they were an unfair judgment of Scorpius's character. Scorpius and I were more alike than I had known.

"It is tough," I agreed.

"It's not that I don't love my parents or grandparents, it's that I can often be aggravated by their past. I had no part in it, but it still affects me."

I nodded. "I feel the same way about my father. I don't think he hates Harry, and I'm not sure if he ever truly did, but he couldn't exactly fix things after how my grandparents treated Harry. I'm pretty sure he was forced into it if anything, and it wasn't until it was too late that he realized how they were treating Harry was wrong. 

"What I can't forgive my dad is how he acts about me being a witch. I'm not shunned or frowned upon, but I'm not often allowed to openly talk about it. It makes him uncomfortable."

"All the more reason for wanting to win the House Cup?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah," I said. "It all boils down to Quidditch."

"We should head back to our dormitories," he said. "We don't want to be caught out of bed and get detention. I'll walk you back to the kitchens."

I jumped off the desk and slung my bag over my shoulder. "You don't have to. It's not really on the way to the Slytherin dormitories."

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"If your dad doesn't really like all the magic stuff, are you completely cut off from the wizarding world during vacations?"

"Somewhat," I said. "Holly and Sawyer still write to me and I get the Daily Prophet from one of my neighbors, who is also a witch. That's pretty much the extent of it, though."

"I know it's a long way off, but I'll write to you next summer," he said.

"That would be great, but maybe you should buy some proper parchment first."

He rolled his eyes. "Never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Never."

He changed the conversation. "Have you ever seen a real Quidditch match, Esther? Outside of school?"

"No. I've never had a chance, being muggle born."

"Oh, right. Of course."

"I would love to, though. Ideally, I guess I'd play professional Quidditch once I graduate next year. At the very least, I'd be a proper working witch in the wizard world, and able to go to as many matches as I could afford."

"My family always manages to get tickets to these things. If you could get permission from your parents, we could definitely go to a match together."

I grinned. "That would be awesome, but I don't know how much my father would love having his daughter going to a strange sporting event with a strange wizard."

Scorpius shrugged. "You could make up some kind of school enrichment trip or I could pretend to be a Muggle taking you to a perfectly ordinary Muggle sport."

"You mean lie," I said.

"Yeah. If it can get you to see Quidditch, why not?"

I laughed. "Well, we've got until the summer vacation to figure it out, Scorpius."

"So you're in?"

"We'll see."

We walked the rest of the way down to the kitchens happily talking about Quidditch, discussing our favorite players and teams, and arguing the finer points of the game. When we reached the painting that was the entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories, we stood outside it for a while. I didn't want to go inside and he didn't seem to want to leave just yet. A Hufflepuff second year came by, giving Scorpius a confused look and disappearing into the dormitory.

"I think it's unfair when a team catches the snitch but doesn't win," he said.

"What?! That's the whole point of the snitch, that it ends the game but doesn't necessarily mean a victory!"

"It feels wrong to me. Catching the snitch is harder than scoring a couple goals."

"Not necessarily! If the whole point was to catch the snitch, why bother having chasers or keepers at all? Catching the snitch doesn't have to happen the first time a seeker sees it, either. If you're team is behind enough that catching the snitch would still mean your team lost, there's no point in catching it unless the opposing team's seeker has seen it, too."

Scorpius shrugged. "Okay, fair enough."

"It's only because you're a seeker that you think catching the snitch is so important," I said.

"Probably. Clearly my own Quidditch position is the best, right?"

I laughed. "Seekers are always the most conceited of Quidditch players, I've found."

"I can't deny it," he said. "I'm pretentious, right?"

"No, I took that back."

"Oh, hey, I know a good example! You know about the Bulgaria versus Ireland Quidditch World Cup final, right?" he asked.

"Of course," I said. "Krum caught the snitch, but Ireland still won. Krum is a legend. Everybody knows that."

"See, just what we were talking about."

"Proof that scoring goals does make a difference after all."

"Okay, okay, you proved me wrong."

"Yeah, I did. I pretty much proved that seekers are worthless and keepers are the most important position after all."

He laughed. "I wouldn't go so far."

"Fine. Well, at the very least, I proved that you need brilliant chasers as well as a brilliant seeker."

"Ideally, everyone on a team would be brilliant," he said.

"Fair enough."

Scorpius held out his hand and I shook it. "I'll see you around, Esther. And if we don't talk until the match, good luck with Cassie."

"Thanks," I said. "Goodnight."

An hour or so later, I curled up in my bed, listening to the soft noises of the other girls' breathing when it hit me. I had to sit up in bed, my sudden revelation was so great.

"Thank you, Scorpius," I whispered to the quiet room. "And thank you Viktor Krum."

There was still hope, even with Cassie as our seeker. I knew how I could get my team to win.


	11. Hufflepuff vs Slytherin

"Before we start practice today, I have something I need to tell all of you."

Geronimo raised his eyebrows. "That doesn't sound too good."

"Shut up," I told him. "It's good news, I promise. As you all know, we have another Quidditch match coming up soon. We'll be playing against Slytherin -"

"And we're going to lose against Slytherin," Mona muttered.

I gave her a sharp look. "Not if my plan works. I know how we can win."

The team was silent at once.

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. I hadn't posed my idea to anybody yet, and I was nervous to see how they would take it, especially Cassie. And their unblinking eyes weren't helping settle my stomach. "Are you all familiar with Viktor Krum and his career for the Bulgarian national team?"

They all nodded, in unison.

"That's when Krum caught the snitch but Ireland still won," Hugo said. He thought it through, and then his eyes went wide. "You don't mean for us to -"

"That's exactly what I mean."

Posie raised her hand. "Could you explain in a little more detail what we're supposed to be doing? If it's what I think it is, well, it seems a bit...outlandish."

"We're going to win by scoring enough points that when the snitch is caught, regardless of who catches it, we will still win," I said. "Like what happened in the World Cup, when Bulgaria played Ireland."

Geronimo looked suspicious. "Do you really think it will work?"

"Yes. It might be difficult to do on purpose, but I'm sure it can be done," I said. And it might be our only hope. "Mona, Oliver, Hugo, as chasers you're going to be extremely important if this is to work. Not that anybody isn't important. Everybody has to work hard to keep the Slytherins from scoring, and to keep Scorpius from catching the snitch before we have enough points for a victory."

Everybody started talking at once, but I raised my hand for silence and looked to Cassie, who had remained silent.

"Oh," she said, looking around at the eight curious faces watching her. "What do I have to do?"

"Try and throw off Scorpius," I said. This part was a bit more difficult, because Scorpius knew from what I had told him that Cassie was a bad seeker, and he might not be swayed by her suddenly flying towards an imaginary snitch, but I had hope.

Cassie still hadn't said anything. "What do you think?" Hugo prompted.

"I think it could work," she said, shrugging.

~~~

"And Weasley takes the quaffle once again, passing quickly to Dunlop. The Hufflepuff chasers have been especially feisty today. Not that they haven't always been on top of their game, of course, it's just that Slytherin's have barely had a touch of the quaffle yet, and it's ten minutes into the match."

Rehmat's commentary was sounding pretty sweet to me, and when I glanced up and saw Scorpius hovering above me in his emerald robes, I gave him a sly smile. Mona had already scored twice, and the beaters had been successful so far in keeping the Slytherins from getting too close to my own goal posts. It was much too early in the match for anything to be decisive, but the Hufflepuffs in the stands were clapping and chanting enthusiastically, and I couldn't help but get my hopes up.

But then there was a scare with Scorpius diving suddenly, arm outstretched to catch the snitch. If Heather hadn't placed a bludger just so, we would've been lost for good. Scorpius pulled out of the way just in time and lost sight of the snitch, but my nerves were beginning to fray. There was a second scare, and then Slytherin scored, and my nerves were shot.

Geromino flew by as he chased down a bludger and gave me a hard stare. "Keep yourself together, Esther. This plan of yours will never work if the Slytherins keep scoring."

"Sorry," I said, realizing why Cassie often seemed so scared of him.

Geronimo whacked the bludger so hard the noise on impact made me jump in my seat on my broom, along with half of the nearest spectators. We watched it sail across the pitch and stop a Slytherin chaser in her tracks. Then he brushed his hair out of his face nonchalantly and turned to grin at me. "Don't worry. We've got your back. Just don't let anymore in."

"I'll do my best," I said, laughing.

After another half hour, Rehmat was starting to sound bored with the game. It had developed into something more slow paced, which made me happy but not many of the spectators felt the same way.

"The Hufflepuff chasers seem to be slowing their pace a bit, but they're still not giving up the quaffle to the opposition for longer than a few passes. Hufflepuff leads with seventy points to Slytherin's ten, and there hasn't been a glimpse of the snitch in some time. Both teams are getting a bit antsy now."

Every time one of my players in yellow zoomed by on their brooms, I called out encouragements. We were leading. Considering that our seeker was mostly incompetent, it didn't count for much if Scorpius were to suddenly catch the snitch, but we were in a good position.

I watched with glee as my chasers continued to dominate the field. They scored three times in quick succession, to a huge amount of applause from one end of the field and some loud grumbling from the other. I grinned despite myself. We were giving Slytherin a run for their money, whether we won or not.

The score was one hundred to ten. That was better odds than we'd ever had before.

The Slytherins bolstered up their attack, bombarding me for a bit. But after Geronimo's comments, I was ready. I found myself going through the movements of saving their attacks without having to think about it. Too much relied on the Slytherins not scoring for me to let the quaffle past me. Nicely targeted bludgers helped, too.

Then the score continued to climb in our favor. One hundred twenty. One hundred thirty. Mona, Hugo, and Oliver took advantage of the Slytherin keeper's anger and embarrassment to score two more points. I took advantage of Scorpius's shocked look to stick out my tongue when he glanced in my direction. One hundred and fifty points.

"They have ten," I told Mona as she helped me block another attempt from the Slytherin chasers. Everyone was tired out now, as the game had been dragging on for over an hour, but Mona still had a wicked smile on her face.

"I know," she said, passing the quaffle to Oliver. "We've got to score one more."

"Two," I corrected. "We want to win, not tie."

"Gotcha."

Mona directed her broom away and intercepted a pass, tucking the quaffle under her arm and leaning low on her broom to improve her speed. I watched with bated breath as Geronimo swooped in and distracted the keeper.

"Would you look at that!" Rehmat cried. "Hufflepuff scores once again. This truly is something. I'm starting to wonder if this is the same team we saw during the rest of the season! No offense to Captain Dursley, of course."

I took none. I was prouder of my team than I ever had been before, and I knew that I would be whether my plan worked out or not. We had given it our best shot. Nobody could deny that. But my heart still beat rapidly and I couldn't help but wonder whether it would work out in our favor or not.

The game went on for another few minutes without much of interest happening. Scorpius had been lazily circling the pitch from high above, with Cassie tailing and trying her best to at least look like she knew what she was doing. But then, out of nowhere, Scorpius dived, looping around his goal post and zooming towards the center of the field. I caught a glimpse of gold, but couldn't be sure that Cassie, diligently following Scorpius, could. Panicking, I put my hands in the air and waved at my chasers, who came out of their stupor and reinvigorated their attack on Slytherin's keeper.

"It's not over yet," I whispered to myself, watching the two seekers, blurs of green and yellow, flying at a breakneck speed. Rehmat was yelling and the Slytherin crowd was jumping up and cheering, but the game wasn't over yet. The snitch still hadn't been caught. "It's not over yet. Ten more points, then Scorpius can catch it."

The snitch led Scorpius and Scorpius led Cassie in complicated patterns, swerving over the heads of the spectators and coming quickly towards me. Rehmat was no longer commentating on what was happening down the other end of the Quidditch pitch, so I was having a hard time seeing. I abandoned my goal post for a minute to fly above them, keeping on eye on Scorpius and one eye on Hugo and the others down the field.

"You can do it!" I yelled. Scorpius was leaning forward on his broom, his hand outstretched. "Come on!"

The quaffle sailed out of Hugo's hands, and the keeper lunged. Scorpius scooted to the end of his broom, his hand still reaching out in front of him. Cassie looked defeated. My hands were clenched in fists, my teeth probably drawing blood from how hard I was biting my lip.

The game was over all at once, with the Slytherins cheering as Scorpius did a lap of the field with the snitch raised above his head. The Hufflepuff team sat on their brooms in confusion. Hugo's throw had gone through, right on target. But had it gone through before Scorpius caught the snitch?

I held my breath, slowly drifting towards Mona and Geronimo. Scorpius and the Slytherins died down, realizing that no victor had yet been officially announced. Rehmat's commentary had trailed off.

"I...I didn't quite catch all of what just happened," he said, his voice booming across the quickly quieting field. "A lot was going on at once, and we're going to have to compare eyewitness reports to determine what really happened."

There was a painful minute of silence across the field, while Rehmat spoke to a few teachers. Then he turned back to the crowd.

"The score was one hundred and sixty points to Hufflepuff and ten to Slytherin. Malfoy caught the snitch, which awards one hundred and fifty points to Slytherin, tying up the game." There were a few cheers, but mainly silence. Rehmat paused for a moment before continuing. "However," he said - here I turned and grabbed Mona's hand, squeezing in anticipation - "Weasley scored moments before the snitch was caught, awarding Hufflepuff ten points before the game ended. Hufflepuff wins by ten points!"

The roars that rose up to meet my ears could only be those of a group of very happy badgers.


	12. Palm Reading

Immediately after Rehmat's announcement, the Hufflepuff section of the spectators erupted into raucous screaming and applause. I directed my broom over there, swooping over their heads with Hugo and Mona close behind, laughing along with them as many hands reached up for high-fives. It was only one match that we had won, but if it felt this good to win, it must feel like heaven to win the cup.

Hufflepuff was obnoxiously loud on their way up to the castle, a swarm of witches and wizards dressed in yellow running across Hogwarts lawn, crushing through the doors to get inside. Becuase our dorms are right by the kitchen, it was easy for students to sneak food in for the party, and the house elves were more than happy to oblige, whipping up cakes, candies, and all sorts of goodies for us to eat.

Hufflepuff house was euphoric.

"All hail Esther Dursley, our fearless captain!" Hugo shouted when we made it to the dorms, making us all laugh.

Before I knew what was happening, Geronimo had lifted me onto his shoulders and I was being paraded around the common room as the rest of my house waved their yellow scarves and stomped their feet, all chanting my name.

"Dursley! Dursley! Dursley!"

Safely on my feet again, I blushed red as the entire room burst into applause. I was saved from having to make a speech or some kind of inspirational statement when music began playing from somewhere - maybe an enchanted instrument or a Muggleborn's iPod - and the center of the common room turned into a mess of dancers.

I wasn't left alone for much more than a minute. Neither was anyone else on the team, for that matter. We had been praised for our Quidditch playing before, of course, but nothing like this. It felt good. We weren't letting our house down, we were building them up.

I was dragged onto the dance floor first by Midha, whose hijab was a nice lemon yellow for the match, and then by Oliver, who twirled me around so many times that he had to find me a place to sit down and wait out the dizziness. Every time I finished my bottle of butterbeer, it was replaced by a wellwishing Hufflepuff. I must have spoken to everybody in the entire house, first year through seventh, by the end of the first hour of celebrations.

I did make sure to talk with each member of my team, thanking them for their hard work and congratulating them. Each and every one of them was grinning wider than I had ever seen before. Even Cassie was bouncing around with her friends, laughing along with them.

"You did well today," I told her.

"I didn't do much."

"Still. You're a valuable member of the team. You certainly gave Scorpius a run for his money."

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm just glad that we won for once. I didn't like letting the team down." Cassie offered me a candy, which I accepted. "Do you think that tactic could work again? We could probably win every match like that."

"It'd be long and hard, sometimes tricky, but we can try," I said, honestly.

A little later I stood with Sawyer, who had his arm around my shoulder, praising me to anyone who would listen. "That plan you saw executed today was a stroke of genius," Sawyer said. We were surrounded by a gaggle of first years, all of them clutching lukewarm bottles of butterbeer, their eyes sparkling from our victory. I didn't mind Sawyer stealing the spotlight a little, and let him talk. "Esther took inspiration from Viktor Krum, right? One of the best seekers in Quidditch history," Sawyer said, "but he caught the snitch too early. Esther hoped Malfoy would take the same bait."

"And he did," I said. "That was mainly luck. I thought he would be smarter than that."

"Guess not," said Sawyer, beaming. It must have been the first time I had seen him smiling while Scorpius Malfoy was the topic of the conversation.

As her friends dispersed into the crowds, one of the first years lingered behind, lookeing up at me. She had her hair in two short braids and held her bottle with both hands. I wondered if all first years looked so young and innocent.

"You're a Muggleborn, aren't you, Esther?" she asked.

I nodded. "That's right."

"Wow," the girl said, her eyes widening. She nearly lost her grip on her butterbeer. "I'm a Muggleborn, too, you know. From Ireland, actually. I really love wizarding sports, much more than football and cricket and other Muggle games."

"Me, too," I said. "There's a sad lack of games played on broomsticks in the Muggle world."

"Do you think I could play Quidditch for our team next year?"

"Sure you can," I said. I had been incredibly happy before, but this was a different feeling. I was inspiring this young girl, and that meant a whole lot to me. "Your blood status isn't a factor in whether or not you're chosen for the team. Work hard in your flying classes this year and next year you could most definitely try out."

"Who knows," said Sawyer, patting me on the back. "You might even be captain one day."

~~~

There was a huge surge in Hufflepuff pride in the weeks lasting until the holidays. Yellow scarves were worn by all, visible shocks of yellow that seemed much, much brighter than the reds, greens, and blues after our victory. There was a decline in snide remarks and an increase in jealous grumbles from the other houses, for the first time in what felt like forever. It was too cold for Quidditch, so the season was pausing until after the holiday break, when it would begin to warm up and each house would play each other one last time before the finals. We had ended the fall section well.

Scorpius, however, wasn't pleased.

"You shouldn't have caught the snitch so early," I told him, after he ranted at me during one of our Defense tutoring sessions. He was pacing the room, waving his wand around, while I was inspecting a bruise on my knee that I had gotten when he successfully jinxed me earlier in the evening.

"I know," he said.

"Too bad you don't have a time turner, or you could go back and change the whole thing."

He frowned at me, crossing his arms, and I beamed.

"Don't underestimate Hufflepuffs," I said.

Scorpius unfroze and continued his laps on the room, his shoulders hunched, his brow furrowed as he thought this through. "Maybe that was my downfall. That, and terrible planning. I'm a seeker, though! It's in my nature to see the snitch and catch it then and there. I can't wait for the right moment, or the game could last forever. What if your team had just kept scoring? Then what? The game would never end, because your seeker was never going to catch the snitch and if I was waiting for the most opportune moment to do so, it never would have happened."

"Stop rambling," I said. "Cassie probably can catch a snitch. She's done it in practices. She's nervous, is all, and sometimes that gets into her head."

Scorpius obeyed, shutting his mouth and sitting on a desk besides me. "You're some kind of Quidditch evil genius, Essie," he said. "That plan was insane."

"Yeah, I know. I wasn't sure that it would work, but it was our last hope."

"Because your seeker sucks."

"No. I didn't say that."

"Well, we both know Cassie isn't very good. She followed me around the pitch for the entire match. Is that what you told her to do?"

"More or less, I guess."

"Well, it certainly began to throw me off."

"Excuses, excuses."

Scorpius swatted at my shoulder. "Shut up," he said. "What was I supposed to do?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm certainly glad you did what you did, though."

"I'm not. We had a perfect record until that last game. It wasn't completely my fault, though, because my job is to catch the snitch, and I did just that. The chasers should've fought harder for the quaffle, and our seeker needed to pay a lot more attention."

"Stop overanalyzing it. You lost one match out of three. That's not bad. We've lost two out of three."

"That's why it's embarrassing! No offense to you, of course, Esther, but your team was supposed to be an easy win."

"Just as well that we weren't then," I said, frowning.

"Sorry. I'm angry at myself, not at you."

"Let's stop talking about Quidditch. You're thinking about it too much."

"Says you."

"Touche," I said. "I'm changing the topic now. It's almost the holidays, which means we're going to get our standings for the first half of the year."

Scorpius nodded. "Are you nervous?"

"For Defense, at the very least. I know I'm doing well in Potions. I got an O on the last two essays, though last week I misread instructions and crushed my beetles instead of slicing."

"Oh, terrible mistake," said Scorpius. "A hundred points from Hufflepuff."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Anyway, Esther, you've got a brilliant tutor now. You're going to do fine at Defense."

"I don't think the tutor had anything to do with it," I said, laughing.

"Maybe not. But honestly, you'll be fine. And if not, well, it's only the end of term report. It's not your final grade or anything. Even this year doesn't matter too much. It's the N.E.W.T.s that count."

I shrugged. "What about you, Scorpius? Any classes you're not going to like the results of?"

"I somehow got myself into N.E.W.T. level Divination and it's pretty terrible," said Scorpius. "It seems that I have a natural proficiency for it, but most of the time I make stuff up for my homework right before class. I'm actually hoping I do terrible enough so I can drop the class and don't actually have to take the N.E.W.T. next year. It's my parents that don't want me to drop anything I do okay in, though."

"That's fair, though," I said. "I failed out of Divination last year."

"Horrible class," he said.

"Come on. If you do good, why not actually try? I can definitely imagine you growing up, leaving Hogwarts with at least an E in Divination, and then going out and predicting the future with your crystal ball and reading tea leaves." I smirked, holding out my hand. "Go on. Read my palm and tell me what my future holds."

Scorpius was laughing as he accepted my hand, cupping it in his, running his thumbs across it and trying to look mysterious as he scrutinized the lines on my palm.

"What do you see?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "you're going to live a long, happy life and I can see great fortune in your future."

"That's lame."

"Yeah," he said. He traced a small line by my index finger with his own. "See that?"

I nodded.

"See, that's a very special little line on your hand. Very telling. Right there, it says that you're going to buy Scorpius Malfoy a very nice Christmas present to thank him for being such a good friend and Defense Against the Dark Arts tutor."

"Ah," I said. "You can tell that from that one little crease on my palm?"

"Yes. If you don't believe me, you should talk to Trelawney. She'll tell you exactly the same thing I did."

I laughed, snatching my hand back from him. "I did get you a gift, though."

Scorpius made an exaggerated noise of excitement and clapped his hands. "Good. I got you something, too. Not entirely sure of what you like, but I trusted my gut and went for it. Last Hogsmeade weekend was the last time I could buy anything, after all."

I copied his noise of excitement. "What is it?"

"You'll have to find out," he said. "Trust me, though, it's good."

"As good as Hufflepuff beating Slytherin in Quidditch?"

Scorpius gave an exasperated sigh and threw his hands up.

I laughed and then jumped off the desk, picking my bag up from where I had dumped it on the floor. As I wrapped my yellow scarf around my neck, i glanced out the window. Snowflakes were hitting the glass, frosting it over. Scorpius came and stood besides me, his own back over his shoulder. It was the first snow of the year.

"Pretty," he said.

I nodded in agreement.

He turned to me. "Well, Esther, if I don't get a chance to talk to you again, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year."

"You too, Scorpius," I said. "Thanks for all your help with Defense this semester."

"We're continuing after the holidays, right?" he asked. "I mean, this is the only time we ever get to talk very much. What with Sawyer hating me and all."

"Trust me, I need all the help I can get with Defense, and Christmas won't change that," I said.

"Good."

He wrapped me in a hug and I hugged him right back. Then he was talking at a mile an hour about his plans for the vacation, leading me towards the door.

We walked as far as we could and then stood for a moment where our paths split. The hallways were empty, as everybody would be expected in their dormitories in only a few minutes. Scorpius and I lingered, though, and hugged one last time.

"Expect Pavo with your present sometime before the holiday," I said.

"And you should expected Atalanta. I'll get some proper parchment and send you a Christmas letter along with it."

"Sounds good," I said. "Merry Christmas."

 


	13. Christmas

Pavo hooted in his cage, rattling the bars until I fed him a treat to calm him down. I set him down on the seat of the train besides me and then put my feet up to bar Holly from getting by. She plowed through, shoving my legs to the side, and then sat on top of me, making me squeal.

When I had pushed her off, laughing, Holly grinned and fluffed up her curly hair, using her reflection in the window as a mirror. "I'm so excited for the holidays!" she said. "I'm spending it at Grandma's this year and she always makes the best homemade butterbeer and the most delicious food imaginable."

"We're well aware, Holls," said Sawyer. "This is only the thousandth time you've said."

Holly stuck her tongue out at him. "None of Gran's special fruit cake for you, then."

"More for me," I said, happily.

"What about you, Essie?" Sawyer asked. We were pulling out of the station now, Hogsmeade disappearing into the foggy winter day as the train picked up speed. I watched it go with a mixture of excitement and sadness.

"Well, I'll be back in the land of Muggles, so it's not all great," I said. Every year, though I loved my own presents and knew it was stupid, I felt jealous of the gifts Sawyer and Holly would present to me on the train back to Hogwarts. They'd get books with moving pictures, wizard sweets, and toys from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Though they'd often pity me and swap Cadbury's for chocolate frogs, as well as buying me thoroughly magic gifts, I was jealous of their permanent position in the wizarding world more than the gifts themselves.

"We'll send all letters to Ms. Thompson, don't worry," said Sawyer, breaking me out of my thoughts. "You have to be glad to see your parents, at least."

"I am," I said.

"Bring us Muggle souvenirs," said Holly. "I can use them for extra credit or something in Muggle studies."

I laughed. "Sure. I'll see what I can find."

"My Christmas is looking good, too, guys. Thanks for asking," Sawyer said. "What I'm not excited for is my dads finding out how I did last semester in some of my classes."

"Not as good as you'd hoped?" I asked.

"Oh, don't talk to me about that," said Holly, flipping her hair in that overdramatic way of hers.

Sawyer rolled his eyes but obliged her. "How did you do then? You're a Ravenclaw, so you can't really complain."

"Not true," said Holly. "My laziness is actually detrimental this year. Apparently if I continue on my current trajectory, I'm going to get an A in Potions and Charms."

"That's good in the Muggle world," I told her, "and still a N.E.W.T."

"No, you don't understand. Supposedly those will be the only N.E.W.T.s I get, and they're not even Es, let alone an O! I'm a Ravenclaw, from a long line of them! So you can complain about your dads finding about your mediocre grades, Sawyer, but know that their reaction won't be anywhere near as terrible as my own family's."

"Gosh, Holls," I said. "Of course you're not going to only get two N.E.W.T.s. You'll get a whole bunch, but you might need to put a little more effort into it."

Holly slumped against the window, pouting. "I don't want to."

"Then fail," said Sawyer, bluntly.

"You're a great help," Holly said.

"You'll do fine," I told her. "You just need to quit your procrastinating and learn some better study skills. Sawyer and I could help you. I'll return the favor, as though I've still only got an A, Professor Venables did say that I was improving at my Defense Against the Dark Arts skills."

Holly opened her mouth, probably to make a remark about how it wasn't her that was helping improve my Defense grades anymore, but I cut her off with a warning look and she closed her mouth again. Sawyer, picking at a stray thread on his sweater, didn't notice.

~~~

When the train arrived at King's Cross Station, Holly, Sawyer, and I fought our way through the crowds of students returning home for the holidays. We crossed through the barrier one after the other and then pushed our trunks down to the clump of families waiting expectantly at the end of the platform. There were oddly dressed couples in pointy hats and robes mingled in with muggle born parents who looked ill at ease off to one side. My own parents were among those, though when they spotted me, my mother moved forward to meet me while my father hung back.

"Esther!" I was wrapped up in an awkward side hug before I could let go of my trolley. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm good, Mum," I said. "Good to see you again."

I detached myself from Mum and she instead turned to Holly and Sawyer, who were scanning the area for their own parents. She smiled. "How was your term?"

"Eh, I could've done better. If we're not discussing grades, than it was perfectly fine," said Sawyer. He turned to Holly. "That wasn't a segway for you to rant about your own grades again. We had enough of that on the train, thanks."

"Esther is going to have to tell you all about how she became Hufflepuff's most celebrated student," Holly told Mum. "Or did she tell you about her Quidditch victory already?"

My mother turned to me, surprised, and I grinned. "I was waiting to tell you in person," I said.

"Oh, I see my parents," said Sawyer. "Happy holidays everybody!" He gave Holly and I one last hug and then disappeared into the crowds. Holly left soon after him, and then my mum took over my cart, pushing it towards my dad, who hadn't moved from his spot safely by the wall, away from the chaos of young wizards and witches rejoining their families for Christmas.

Mum stopped me before we got to him, though, and looked around furtively. "Where's this boy you wrote to me about? Scorpius, was it?"

I rolled my eyes but did look around for him. "I don't know. We said goodbye back at Hogwarts, because of Sawyer's problem with him. He's going to send me a letter, though."

My mum raised her eyebrows.

"Stop it," I said. "It's not like that."

"Did you get him a gift too?"

"Yeah. I bought all my gifts at Hogsmeade. I bought you and Dad the least magical things I could find, though of course I have some wizarding books for you, as well."

We had reached my dad by this point and, like my mother had, he gave me a big hug, though he eyed the wizards suspiciously as he did so.

"Hi, Dad."

"Esther," said my dad, nodding. He ruffled my hair. "How was your term?"

"It went pretty well. Things picked up towards the end of it, I have to say."

My mum looked over Pavo's cage to look at Dad as we headed towards the car. "She's become a bit of a school celebrity, I hear."

I blushed, pulling my plain muggle coat around me as we stepped outside. "Well, not exactly. More of a house celebrity. I succeeded at embarrassing Slytherins and surprising the other two houses. Only in Hufflepuff am I really praised."

"Don't be so modest," said my mum. "Sawyer and Holly weren't exaggerating, were they?"

"Not really," I admitted.

My dad unlocked the car and helped me with my trunk, looking between the two of us with confusion. "What exactly did Esther do? There weren't any dangerous wizard tournaments, were there? Your world has dragons."

"There were no dragons involved," I said. The fact that he called the wizarding world your world made me happy. I belonged to it. I picked up my broomstick and patted it before passing it to Dad, who put it in the trunk. "My minor celebrity has only to do with that trusty piece of wood there."

"Quidditch," my mum said. The sport fascinated her, and I'd promised to one day take her to a match, as her knowledge of the sport only extended to what I told her and the rare Daily Prophet clipping from Mrs. Thompson.

"Oh," said my dad. "That wizard sport."

"Yeah," I said, buckling my seatbelt. "I'm team captain and although putting a team together was tough at first, everybody is really improving. We lost a lot but we did win the last game we played. I hope we can succeed in the next half of the year." I could sense the discomfort in the car and changed the subject. "Enough about me. What have you been doing?"

I twisted in my seat and watched Kings Cross disappear. And, just like that, is was as though I wasn't a witch at all.

~~~

Back at home, it was nice to see my room again, my cat Duchess curled up on the bed waiting for me. I petted her and said hello until Pavo screeched in jealousy, causing Duchess to hiss at him and run out the door. I left my bag by the window, still packed, and headed back downstairs to the living room, where I could hear the clinking of glasses and opening of cupboards as my mum made a cup of tea.

My parents had a modestly sized Christmas tree, as our house didn't have very high ceilings, but it was strung with plain white lights and nice ornaments, some of which I had made as a little kid. The living room had an embarrassing number of photos of me at all ages; me as a baby, as a toddler, even the awkward prepubescent Esther with braces and pig tails was represented, much to my embarrassment when we had guests.

My mother and I cooked Christmas dinner together all day on Christmas Eve, as was our tradition, and my grandparents arrived that evening to spend the next few days with us, and to see me before I went back to school.

On Christmas day, as the sole child, I was watched eagerly by four adults who had showered me with gifts as they did every year. New clothes, a watch, and some books from my grandparents. My father approved of the gift I got him: a sweater and the most innocuous candy I could find in Honeydukes. In five minutes Mum and I stole to ourselves, I gave some story books I had found, complete with moving pictures. During lunch, I ate too much and popped Christmas crackers with them, laughing at how my dad looked in his silly, green paper hat. It was an ordinary, muggle Christmas but it was a good one nonetheless.

I was bringing some of my new gifts up to my room after lunchtime when my dad called out from downstairs. "Esther?"

"Yes?"

"You should come down."

I took the stairs two at a time, jumping the last four and shaking the entire landing. My dad stood by the window in the kitchen, which smelled of red cabbage and turkey. I could hear my mom talking loudly with my grandmother, obviously trying to distract them from something or other.

"What is it?" I asked my dad.

He gestured at the window and I moved to get a better look, pushing hair out of my face. An owl I recognized was on the other side of the glass, staring expectantly inside with its large eyes. When it saw me, it pecked loudly at the glass.

"Atalanta," I said. I must have forgotten to tell Scorpius that all of my mail had to go to Ms. Thompson, not to my house itself. To my dad, I said, "Don't worry. It's not bad news."

"No," he said. "The bad news is that it crashed into the window. What if your grandparents had seen it?"

"Sorry, Dad. I'll take care of her."

I moved past him and opened up the window, letting Atalanta through. She landed on my arm and held out her leg, which held a scroll of parchment and a package. She screeched but before she could get it all the way out, I clamped a hand over her beak. She bit me and cut my finger, making me cry out, but Atalanta didn't stop screeching.

"Why did you let her in?" my dad cried.

"I'm taking her upstairs. I can give her some of Pavo's treats," I said. "Make sure Nanny and Grandpa don't come through until I've closed the door up there."

Before he could say anything, I was in the hallway and rushing up the stairs. Although it had been a close call with my grandparents in the house, too, I was excited to see what Scorpius had sent me.

Safely in my room, Pavo and Atlanta looked ready to start hooting at one another but I put a finger to my lips and gestured downstairs and they seemed to get the message. I took my gift and letter from Atalanta and gave her some treats, tossing some to Pavo for good measure. Then I sat on my bed and opened the letter.

_Dear Esther,_

_Look, I do actually own proper sheets of parchment!_

_Merry Christmas, my new friend. I'm very glad we're growing closer, and that I can help you improve in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'll spend the holiday nursing all my bruises so I'm prepared for you to give me more when we start up again next term._

_I hope you like your present. I'm not very good at choosing them. Please know that its a little bit of a joke, but also slightly serious. If that makes much sense at all._

_Have a good time in the Muggle world, Esther, and a merry Christmas._

_S.M._

I turned to the package next, which was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. I undid the string neatly, by pulling on one end of the bow, and then simply ripped through the paper. Inside was a hardcover book, probably purchased in the bookstore in Hogsmeade. I read the title and laughed. How To Manage a Quidditch Team. The bottom of the book boasted that it was a Limited edition with bonus chapters: How Much Training is too Much? and How to Deal with a Troublesome Seeker.

I laughed. I was certainly dealing with a troublesome seeker.

Because I wasn't allowed to let Pavo out of the house, I gave my own letter and Scorpius's gift to Atalanta to bring to him. With one last pet of her feathers and one last treat, I opened my own window and let Atalanta go.

My mum called from downstairs. "Esther? We're going to light the pudding!"

I hid the book under my pillow and headed down the stairs once more.


	14. Three Way Duel

"How to deal with a troublesome seeker," Holly read out during our first study session in the library of the new year. "Well you certainly need some help with your seeker," she said. She plopped the book back on the table with a bang, making a group of mischievous Gryffindors gathered around a book nearby all jump and swivel their heads. Holly glanced over them disinterestedly. "That looks like something a prefect should be concerned with."

"Then go give them detention or check it out or something," I said.

Holly made an exaggerated groaning noise, making the Gryffindors jump again. "That requires standing up."

I resorted to the system Sawyer and I had developed to make sure Holly was fulfilling her prefect duties. "How long should we give them?"

"I don't know."

"Say, ten minutes. If they're still there after that amount of time, you've got to -"

"Yeah, I know. I've got to go and be all responsible on them." Holly leaned back in her chair, so it was standing up on only two legs. She rubbed her chin. "Back to the interesting stuff. What did you get him?"

"Parchment," I said.

Holly gave me a confused look. "Not exactly an award winning Christmas present, Essie."

"Scorpius understands, trust me."

"Oh," she said, raising her eyebrows. "An inside joke."

"I also sent him some muggle candy," I said, ignoring her. "Considering how much you and Sawyer seem to like it, I decided some of the Mars bars and whatnot I bought could be for him."

"Chocolate is a good gift for somebody you like," Holly said, nodding.

"I don't like him." I paused. "Well, I do, of course, but not the way that you're implying. We've been over this, Holls."

"Fair enough," she said. She picked up the Quidditch bok again and flipped through it. "It's got nice pictures and everything. Do you think it'll come in handy when your Quidditch practices start back up?"

I shrugged. "I've been reading it."

"Front to back, the boring way, I'm guessing."

"Well, yes, but only because I don't want to miss anything that I might not know or might need to know."

"Why not skip straight to the seeking section and do this little quiz thing they've got?" Holly asked. She tapped the first question with her forefinger. "Can your seeker fly in a fairly straight line with their eyes closed?" She frowned. "Can anyone?"

I snatched the book from her and stuck it in my open bag. "The question is to see whether the seeker has adequate control over their broom. If they're no good at flying, they're not going to be very good at finding the snitch, you see."

"Blah blah blah," she said. "It's a shiny gold thing. How hard can it be?"

"I'd like to see you try," I said.

"Yeah, I may have overstated my Quidditch skills a bit there. I don't think you can fail first year flying lessons, but I probably came fairly close. I'm changing the topic now, okay? Are you and Scorpius continuing your tutoring stuff?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm nowhere near as good at Defense as I want to be."

"Or you just want to hang out with Scorpius some more."

I gave her a grudging look. "That, too, of course, but only because we're becoming good friends. Stop reading into things too much."

Holly shrugged, indifferent. Then she flicked her hair behind one shoulder and stood up. "It don't know what that muggle shampoo stuff you bought me is, but it works wonders on my hair. Look! Less frizz and more silky curls! Feel it, Essie, feel it."

I dutifully felt her hair. "Nice," I said.

"Nice is right," she said. "Feel free to buy me more for my birthday, Christmas, whatever. I don't want anything else."

"Why are you standing up?"

"Ten minutes," she said, gesturing to the Gryffindors, who were giggling and pointing at something in the book.

I smiled. Maybe Holly was changing a little, becoming more like the good, diligent Ravenclaws she was often compared to.

"Ten galleons says they've stolen something from the restricted section," said Holly, nearly tripping over her bag as she went to investigate what the Gryffindors were doing. I smiled even wider. She wasn't changing very much at all.

~~~

After Quidditch practice that week, I walked with Mona up to the castle. She had her robes shoved into her bag, the yellow fabric hanging out and flapping in the breeze. She wasn't wearing a coat either, and we had been circling around in the air for over an hour, and although her cheeks and nose were bright red, she didn't seem to be shivering.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked.

"Freezing," Mona said. "Are we going to use our new tactics in the next game?"

"Probably," I said.

"Good, because Father Christmas doesn't seem to have brought Cassie some seeking skills."

I glanced around to make sure Cassie wasn't within earshot before reprimanding her. "Don't say that. Cassie just needs more work. She's definitely improving all the time. Be careful what you say when she can be around, too. We don't want to make her feel worse than she already does, and we're supposed to be a team, making fun of the other Quidditch teams together rather than making fun of each other."

"Fair enough," Mona grumbled. "I'm just worried that we won't be able to pull it off again. Do you think everybody's caught on to our strategy yet?"

"It was one game, Mona," I said. "Unless we go around blatantly discussing what we were doing, we should be fine."

"A lot of kids here are huge fans of Quidditch. I wouldn't be surprised if they caught on sooner rather than later."

"I know, but we have to hope, right? Keep your thinking cap on and try and come up with another tactic if you're so concerned. I am."

Mona shrugged. "I'll try my best. Later, Esther."

"Bye," I said. She went one way, trailing behind the rest of the team on their way to the Hufflepuff dormitories or the library, while I went down the opposite corridor to meet Scorpius for our first tutoring session of the new year.

I had just about reached our usual meeting point, the empty classroom at the end of the hallway, when I noticed not one but two boys waiting by the doorway. I quickened my pace, my heart beginning to thump harder. There was a blond boy, Scorpius, slightly shorter than the other, with his green tie untied and hanging loose around his neck, his sleeves rolled up. The other boy was lanky, his shoulders slumped and a sour expression on his face as he watched me jog up to them. His yellow tie was perfectly knotted and his school uniform was slightly rumpled but mostly immaculate. The tension between the two of them was palpable, and I stepped into it, between the two boys who were glaring at each other.

"Sawyer," I said. "What are you doing here?"

Sawyer saw me glancing at Scorpius, sharing an alarmed look with him, and scowled. "What are you doing here, Esther?"

I opened my mouth but couldn't respond.

"Can't say anything? Funny, because Malfoy couldn't either."

"Why -" I tried again.

"I came out of the library with Holly and was coming to see how your practice was coming along when I saw Malfoy here heading in the same direction. I followed him back in to the castle on a hunch and, sure enough, I got a good reaction out of him when I asked if he was meeting you here." Sawyer crossed his arms and looked at me with a mixture of contempt and heartache. "What are you doing with him?"

"It's not what it looks like," I said. "It's nothing...you know." I felt myself turning bright red, and saw Scorpius doing the same. Sawyer looked between the two of us and scoffed.

Luckily, Scorpius stepped in, because I was too embarrassed to talk. "Esther needs help with Defense Against the Dark Arts and I help her after her Quidditch practices. That's all."

"You know I don't like him," Sawyer said to me, as though Scorpius wasn't there.

"That's why I didn't tell you that he was tutoring me. You won't tell me what your problem is with him so until you tell me something earthshattering, I can only go by my own judgment. My Defense grade is improving, and Scorpius doesn't mind keeping our relationship a secret if you don't like it."

"My god," said Scorpius. "It's not like the two of you are dating. Wait, are you?"

"No," said Sawyer and I simultaneously.

Then Sawyer asked, "Are _you_ two dating?"

"No," I said hurriedly.

"Well, if we're all just friends, there's no reason why Esther can't be friends with both of us," said Scorpius. "It's not like she's cheating on you." Then he frowned, confused. "Wait, can you cheat in a friend way? A friendly cheat? Like friendzoning your friend?"

"She was being dishonest," said Sawyer, interrupting.

Scorpius snapped back into his anger. "Maybe if you would just spit out whatever it is that makes you hate me so much, then Esther can decide what to do. But, like she said, you won't tell her anything. So she can do whatever she wants."

The two boys were turned away from me now, staring daggers at one another. I tried to step between them, but they moved away from me, circling each other slowly. I noticed the way Scorpius was moving his hand into his sleeve and panicked, knowing that he kept his wand up there.

"Stop it," I said. "You're both being ridiculous."

That was enough to get Sawyer to round on me. "You say that you want me to tell you what my issue is with Malfoy, but you go and talk with him anyway. I was thinking of telling you, Esther, because I know I was being ridiculous, but I wasn't comfortable until recently. Now you've gone and blown it, you realize that, right? How can I trust you when you'll probably go on talking with Scorpius behind my back anyway?"

I was dumbstruck for a moment. "Sawyer, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to -"

"Yeah, I know you didn't mean to do it, but you did."

Scorpius fidgeted, his hand reemerging from his sleeve without his wand. "I can stop tutoring Esther if you want."

"No," I said, and though I faltered a bit when Sawyer glared at me, I pressed on. "My Defense grade is suffering. I need your help."

"Right, so you'll choose blondie here and your Defense grade over your best friend since first year, huh?"

"No, Sawyer! I don't understand why you have to choose! Why can't you tell me what your issue is, so we can better resolve this whole thing?"

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something but Sawyer's hand was a blur as he whipped out his wand and held it towards him. Scorpius jumped back, pulling his own wand out of his sleeve. I followed suit, not knowing what else I could do, and then awkwardly pointed it first at one and then at the other of the two boys. We stood like that for a few moments, each of us glaring at the others.

"What are we doing?" I asked after a while. My wand arm was shaking. If I chose to cast a spell, it probably wouldn't hit its target.

Scorpius gave out a forced laugh. It sounded a bit like a bark, and it made Sawyer and I jump. "This is ridiculous, I agree," he said. "This doesn't need to happen this way. We could all just make up and go our separate ways. I won't talk to Esther again, I promise."

Sawyer frowned. "Yes, you will. No, don't try and argue. Why should I believe that these secret tutoring sessions won't just continue."

It seemed like everything was about to explode, that spells and hexes were about to start flying, when there was a shout from down the hallway and Professor Longbottom came running towards us, his own wand brandished. Sawyer and Scorpius's expressions quickly turned to ones of panic rather than hatred as they concealed their wands as best they could.

"What's going on here?" Professor Longbottom asked.

"Sorry, Professor," we chorused.

"You should be heading back to your dormitories, not preparing for a three way duel in the hallways."

"Esther and I study here some nights," said Scorpius.

"I've been told, Mr. Malfoy."

Sawyer scowled. "Does everybody know about this except for me?" he whispered. "What about Holly?"

I gave him a sheepish look and he looked away, angry.

Professor Longbottom was still waiting. "Can one of you explain what was going on here?"

"Scorpius and I came here for tutoring tonight but Sawyer came along and we got into an argument about...Quidditch," I said. Before I knew it, I was rambling. "I'm sure you're aware, but I'm the captian of the Hufflepuff team and Scorpius is the captain of the Slytherin team. When Sawyer came along and mentioned the last Quidditch match before the break, in which Hufflepuff beat Slytherin, Scorpius naturally got mad and it escalated rather quickly, until you showed up and stopped it from getting worse, sir."

The three of us held our breath for a minute, seeing if my fabrication would hold.

"Okay, I believe you," Professor Longbottom said. "Let's see...twenty points from Slytherin and forty points from Hufflepuff." When Sawyer and I began to protest, he raised a hand. "Yes, I know, but there are two of you to Mr. Malfoy's one. Now, back to your dormitories. I'm sure tutoring can wait for another evening, under the circumstances."

"Thank you, sir," we chorused.

The walk back down the corridor was awkward, with Professor Longbottom leading the way and us three staggered slightly, me in the middle of the two boys, each of us feeling too awkward, angry, and embarrassed to say anything to each other. The professor was first to turn onto another corridor, and then it was Scorpius, heading down to the dungeons. He gave a little wave goodbye when Sawyer wasn't looking and I returned it, along with an apologetic look. Then it was just Sawyer and I on our way to the kitchens.

When we were inside the common room, about to head in opposite directions to our respective dormitories, I grabbed his arm before he could get away. "I'm sorry, Sawyer," I said. "I don't want you to not trust me. Can I do something to make it up to you?"

He didn't say anything, or look at anything other than his shoes.

"I honestly won't meet with Scorpius if you don't want me to," I said. "Your friendship is valuable to me, Sawyer. More than valuable. Priceless. I'm sorry about tonight, truly."

Sawyer only pulled out of my grasp and headed down the hall to his room without a word. I was left alone in the common room with a few younger students who were pretending that they hadn't overheard by burying their noses in their textbooks. I sighed.

It was the beginning of a long silence between him and I.


	15. Next Generation

I picked at my food at breakfast the next morning, full of anxiety. I didn't know how Sawyer and Scorpius were going to act, or how I was going to act for that matter. Would Sawyer apologize and admit that he was being slightly ridiculous? Would Scorpius come up with some kind of compromise to make everybody happy? Would I attempt to fix things, or leave them to settle it? Sawyer wasn't down for breakfast yet, and although I wasn't hungry and had some work it would benefit me to review, I found myself poking at my eggs and watching the entrance to the hall for him.

When he did come through, I had an internal crisis. Should I look at him and smile, maybe wave? Or ignore him? Pretend nothing had ever happened or try and talk to him seriously about it? Indecisive, I reached for my goblet and spilled some pumpkin juice down my shirt.

Sawyer walked straight past, ignoring Claudette, who had scooted over to make room on the table besides me and forced himself between some seventh years down the table.

Even though Sawyer was ignoring me, I found myself feeling slightly relieved. Some anger was to be expected, and at least now I knew how he was going to act about the whole thing. I could adjust accordingly. Also, there hadn't been a huge scene about it as I had feared. Some of the Hufflepuffs had noticed, of course, but nothing more. I managed to eat an entire piece of bacon.

But then Holly shoved a piece of toast in her mouth and literally ran over, hair bouncing. This was common enough of an occurrence; Holly was always jumping between tables to talk to her many friends. Lots of kids did that. Holly, however, was often much noisier about it.

She went to Sawyer first, but was rejected with blank stares. Some eyes followed as she scrambled, her boots stomping loudly, to where I was situated, more towards the middle of the table. Claudette scooted over again, letting Holly sit. Now both the Hufflepuff table and the Ravenclaws were aware that something was going on. Great.

"What was that about?" she asked, leaning back in her seat to look at Sawyer.

I filled her in with as few words as possible, in as low a voice as I could manage, as to not bring even more attention to the fact that I was having relationship issues. Holly, in her usual overdramatic fashion, nodded thoughtfully throughout my story and then, when I was finished, contemplated it with her hands clasped. She made a move and I expected a response, but instead she stole the rest of my bacon and reached for a spare goblet.

She gulped down some pumpkin juice. "My diagnosis is this," she said after swallowing, in a voice much to loud. "You, Esther, have boy trouble."

I leaned in close and hissed in her ear. "Shut up!"

"It's true."

"No, it's not," I said through gritted teeth, "and even if it is, I don't want everybody in the dining hall to know about it."

"Sorry, Essie. Where was I? Right, boy trouble. I'm not entirely sure what Sawyer's deal is yet, but I'm working on it, but Scorpius most definitely has a little crush and although he says he's okay with standing back to let you and Sawyer figure things out, he's really not."

"Please whisper," I said, glancing around nervously. Claudette, to her credit, quickly pretended she hadn't been listening the entire time.

"I am incapable of such a feat," said Holly, placing her hand on her forehead as though she was fainting in an old movie. "I am helping a friend in need and that means I'm thinking too hard to be quiet."

"I'm not sure that made much sense."

"Shush. You are no longer of any use to me."

"Glad I could help."

She ignores me. "I have the story, now I'm on the case. I'd recommend eating some more bacon, Esther. Don't cut back on breakfast because of your emotional strain."

Before I could argue with her, Holly jumped up from the table, nearly tripping over the bench as she ran across the hall again, this time skidding to a stop in front of the Slytherin table and scanning their heads. I groaned and put my head in my hands. Holly was taking things too far, and now at least three houses were aware that there was some kind of drama going on.

Claudette was no longer pretending not to be paying attention. She leaned towards me as Holly stood on the tips of her toes, still searching among the Slytherins. "Who is she looking for?" Claudette asked in a whisper.

"Scorpius," I said.

" _Malfoy_?"

"That's the one."

"I didn't know you were dating Scorpius."

"That's because I'm not," I said.

"Is he one of the nicer Slytherins?"

I frowned at that. "He's a nice person, yes, but I don't think one's niceness is something that has anything to do with one's house."

Claudette shrugged and then perked up. "Oh, Holly found him!"

We watched Holly push her hair behind her ear and saunter over to where Scorpius was sat. He looked up at her, frowned, and then looked across the room to me. I put my hand up and gave him a small wave. Confused, he waved back, and then spoke with Holly. She was gesticulating emphatically and maybe I was paranoid, but I thought I could almost pick out her voice among the hundreds of chattering Hogwarts students.

"Can you read their lips or something?" Claudette asked. Then she turned red. "Sorry to be interfering, Esther. I'll be quiet now."

"It's okay," I said. Thanks to Holly, quite a lot of people were learning the story, anyway.

I met up with Holly outside the hall several minutes later. She was bouncing up and down.

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome," she said brightly. "But you don't even know what I've done for you yet!"

"I was being sarcastic."

Holly frowned. "Well. I'm only trying to help you."

"I know, but now a whole lot of people are going to know what's going on."

"Trust me, Esther, this isn't that interesting. Some Gryffindor will set fire to the potions room tomorrow or a first year will get turned into a bat for a joke. Simple relationship issues are commonplace. Muggle stuff, and I mean that in the nicest possible way."

"Okay," I said. "Now, before I die of anxiety, what were you talking with Scorpius about?"

"Just what happened last night. A good detective doesn't rely on only one witness." She grins. "I learned that from those mystery books you got me for Christmas last year."

"This isn't a murder case."

"I'm trying to put together the facts, Essie. You need a third...no, fourth party to clear this up. Sawyer's uncooperative, Scorpius is cocky and sure that he's in the right, and you're no good with this sort of thing."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "How many times are you going to insult me in this conversation?"

"I'm not trying to, I promise. Look, you want this fixed, right? I'm your friend and I'm Sawyer's friend, so I'll mediate between the two of you. Focus on Quidditch or something."

"Thanks," I said.

Holly beamed. "You're welcome."

"Again, sarcasm."

~~~

Sawyer wouldn't sit with me during Defense, and I felt conspicuous asking Midha whether I could sit with her. She was gracious and naturally said yes, but it wasn't my usual seat and I felt out of place, more disjointed that I did already.

Scorpius made eye contact with me, as we normally did during class, but he didn't smile so widely. After class, knowing that Sawyer wouldn't talk to me (as I had tried during every other class of the day), I decided to see if he would.

It was much easier to initiate a conversation with Scorpius, because he wouldn't run away, but waited for me outside the classroom.

"So Sawyer's obviously upset," he said.

"Holly's adopted the case, apparently. She thinks we need outside interference in order to clear this up. Whatever this is."

"I know," said Scorpius. "She's got a lot of energy. I had a hard time keeping up with all the words coming out of her mouth this morning."

"Sorry about that."

He shrugged. "No big deal. Have you or Holly gotten anywhere?"

"No," I said. "She's going to try and find out what his deal is with Slytherins. Or maybe its just you." I realized how that sounded and turned red. "I'm not blaming you."

"I know."

"You didn't mean what you said last night, did you?"

"I can't remember anything that I said specifically."

"You said that we could all go our own ways, that you wouldn't talk to me again."

Scorpius grinned. "No worries. I'm talking to you now, aren't I?"

"That's good then."

"But honestly, it would probably be better if we stayed on the low down for a bit, for Sawyer's sake. I mean, even more low down than we were already. I want to be friends, of course, but I don't want to be responsible for breaking up you and Sawyer."

"We're not dating."

"Breaking up your platonic relationship, I meant. It's ridiculous that he's trying to make you choose between me and him, but I guess it makes sense that he's outraged that you're not necessarily listening to him over me. You two have got something like six years of friendship, while we've got about six months."

I sighed. "So no Defense for a while, I guess."

"Yeah. That'll probably be best."

"My grade is going to suffer."

He smiled. "No it won't. You're good at Defense, Esther, you just lack the conviction. Have a little bit more faith in yourself and you'll do a lot better."

"It's your tutoring that helps."

"No. I just made you more confident by constantly feeding you praise," he said. "Which, if you want, is something I can still do. I'll send Atalanta with lots of little notes or something. On my new parchment, of course."

I laughed. "Sounds good," I said. "Thanks, Scorpius, for putting up with all this."

"I'm part of the problem, though, right? I sort of have to put up with it." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I should probably get going to my next class. Don't want a detention on the night of Quidditch practice."

"I'll see you on the pitch, at least," I said. "Later."

"Bye." He ran to catch up with the rest of the Slytherins on their way to Herbology. I watched them go before heading to my own class, trying to name them all. Scorpius. The girl with the long braid was Octavia, and her friend was Gillian. Scorpius was talking animatedly with Sullivan, who nobody called by his first name. Was one of them responsible for Sawyer's anger, or was it his issue to do with Scorpius alone?

~~~

"Hey, Esther."

I looked up from the essay I was writing in the common room. Hugo smiled and sat down besides me when I patted the spot next to me on the couch. It was fairly late at night, and most of the students were already up in their dormitories. I didn't want to face the girls I shared a room with, though, as they'd been giving me subtle friendship advice and asking how I was every night before bed.

"What's up?" I asked, glad of the distraction.

"Uh, I'm half here on the behalf of myself, and half on the behalf of Cassie, who is too nervous to ask for anything from anyone." He smiled. "We were wondering whether we were still going to do the extra practices. Cassie's pretty determined to improve a lot, especially after our last win. You should see the books she's lugging around in her book bag."

"What's she got?" I asked.

"A whole bunch of Quidditch stuff she's taken out of the library and ordered from bookstores," Hugo said. "A lot of seeker manuals and biographies. That sort of thing."

"Oh, wow. That's great."

"Extra practices?"

"Of course," I said. "Sorry I didn't speak to you about them sooner. Speaking of improvement, I don't remember whether I got a chance to tell you how great your shot got by Christmas. You don't need extra practices at all."

Hugo smiled. "Thanks a lot, Esther, but I think I'll continue with them. I have a lot of fun."

"Me, too," I said.

He didn't go, but lingered behind on the couch. He peered down at my essay. "Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked.

"Yeah. Not my best class."

"Sorry to ask, but some people have been talking and...Scorpius Malfoy was helping you study, right?"

"Yes," I said. "Did Claudette tell you?"

"Well, I think it was more that Claudette told Midha, who told Rehmat, who told some others....Your friend Holly made a bit of a scene in the hall the other day at breakfast."

"Yeah," I sighed. "Hasn't anybody blown up a cauldron since then?"

Hugo laughed. "I don't think so. Why?"

"Holly promised that somebody would blow something up or whatever and then nobody would be interested in my minor drama," I said.

"It's an inter-house thing, which makes it more interesting," Hugo said.

"It's what's making Sawyer so mad. He doesn't want me to be friends with Scorpius, seemly because he's a Slytherin."

Hugo raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that a little ridiculous? You're not first years. It seems like a childish argument to have."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I didn't want to upset Sawyer but it's a bit late now. He hasn't said anything to me since he found out that Scorpius and I were friends. He has every reason to be angry that I kept it a secret from him, but it was only so he wouldn't get agitated. That didn't end up working. It seems as though its Sawyer's problem, but Scorpius is just as...unwilling to compromise? He's understanding but quite stubborn and hotheaded. I don't know and I'm rambling at you now." I stopped, blushing. "Sorry."

Hugo shrugged. "I don't mind. What happened when Sawyer found out?"

"Wands got pulled," I said. "It was a bad scene in general. Professor Longbottom broke it up in the end, which I was grateful for, but he deducted a bunch of points from Hufflepuff."

"If you were dueling in the hallway, how come Longbottom didn't give you detention?"

"No spells were cast," I said, "and we technically weren't out of bed after hours yet."

"Did Slytherin lose points as well, at least?" he asked.

I grinned. "Yeah. It was something like twenty points per person."

Hugo thought for a minute. "That whole situation sort of sucks for you, Esther. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"It's terrible that houses stick to themselves, without mingling very much at all. I suppose all the inter-house competitions drive us apart. Like me with my cousins, though that's more of a family rivalry than some of the hatred you get between houses. All Albus and I ever talk about is Quidditch, and over the Christmas holidays I don't think he liked me much at all."

I grinned.

"He wasn't expecting our win at all," Hugo continued. "Far from it. Gryffindor's been doing well, and he wanted everybody to leave for the holidays with their victory over Ravenclaw in everybody's minds, not our triumph over Slytherin. If it was James who stole the spotlight, rather than me, he would've been livid. But I got off easy because I'm younger and only a cousin."

I laughed. "I wouldn't know."

"Only child?"

I nodded.

"I wouldn't know how that felt," said Hugo. "I've always been surrounded by family. I've got my sister and all the cousins. The Weasley family is large. To a lesser extent, some of the families of my parents' friends from their days here at Hogwarts. What's it like being the only child?"

"I'm not sure. I probably get all the good stuff from parents to a greater extent, but all the bad stuff, too. If I do something bad, I don't have any siblings to do something else and remove the focus from me, for example."

"But you have nobody to outshine you, either," said Hugo.

"No."

"It's a tough family to be a part of," he said. "I'm no Potter, of course, but my parents aren't exactly nobodies, either. Then James is good at Quidditch, Rose is smart like Mum. Is a god-cousin a thing? Because I've got Teddy Lupin to outshine on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Dad's told me that he had trouble being one of the youngest of such a big family, like I do now, but I don't know. He helped defeat Voldemort with Harry Potter. Even Aunt Ginny's professional Quidditch career can't exactly beat that."

"She was a part of Dumbledore's Army as well," I pointed out.

He frowned at me. "I know."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

I was more tactful with my next sentence. "That must be tough, though I'm very confident that you're going to do great things, too, Hugo."

He shrugged.

"I promise you that you will," I said definitively. "I sort of feel as though I have a substantial name, too, but mainly I feel that I have to remove myself from it, not outlive it."

"Dursley," said Hugo. "I don't think my uncle holds a grudge, if that's what you mean, and only my family really knows that he lived with your grandparents and father. It's not very common knowledge. They wouldn't want wizards showing up at your front door."

"I know, though. Sometimes...no, I always feel as though your cousins and your sister do hold a grudge, though. Avoiding me and that."

Hugo frowned. "What? I mean, Lily is a little bit awkward anyway, I suppose. As for Albus, if you like the same kinds of things he does, you're fine in his books. Rose...well, if anything, she probably thinks you hold a grudge against her."

"What? Why would I do that?"

"Why would we hold a grudge against you?" asked Hugo. "I phrased that badly. It's not us against you, or us and you and all. We're the next generation, Esther, not our parents. We don't have to think the same way they do, like the people they like. I happen to like Scorpius, for example, Malfoy or not. And you're a great captain and a good friend, Esther, no matter what your last name is."

I smiled. "Thanks, Hugo."

"This ended up being a lot deeper than asking about extra Quidditch practice," he said, looking around at the empty common room. "I think we may have gotten off topic somewhere along the way."

I laughed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Esther. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

 


	16. Unfair Play

To be honest, I had a lot of qualms about Holly supposedly trying to fix the relationship between Sawyer, Scorpius, and I. Despite them, though, I didn't interfere with what she was doing and answered any random questions she had honestly, without complaint or question. Sawyer would actually talk to Holly, while all my attempts to talk to him myself were met with blank stares, so I eventually figured I would only be stressing both Sawyer and I by even attempting to talk. So I left Holly to it.

I was also too preoccupied with Quidditch to worry too much.

"Okay team, we're trying the same tactic again."

There were some nods, but also some grumbles of disapproval. "Everybody knows the Viktor Krum thing, Esther," Geronimo complained. "They're not going to fall for it. It was Malfoy's ego that won the match for us. He wanted to be the one to catch the snitch."

I shrugged. "I hate to resort to stereotypes, of course, but these are Gryffindors we're playing today."

Geronimo rolled his eyes. "It's plausible. I guess."

"Anyway, Hugo, Mona, and Oliver make a strong team of chasers. If you and Heather keep the bludgers trained on the Gryffindor chasers and keeper like you did against Slytherin, we should be fine. Just keep scoring points, and I'll do my bit to make sure they don't." I looked down my lineup of players, studying them proudly. "We've got this."

I led them out on to the pitch, our brooms in our hands. I shook hands with Albus Potter, who grinned. "Got another trick up your sleeve, Dursley?" he asked.

 _No, just the same trick as before_. "I guess you'll have to find out," I said.

~~~

Our tactic seemed to work, for a while at least. Albus caught my eye as Mona scored her fifth goal, to make one hundred points. He raised his eyebrows, successfully conveying that he knew that we were trying to get away with using the same tactic twice.

My fears weren't warranted, however, because my chasers did a lot better than the Gryffindors. They were practically flying circles around them, and Heather and Geronimo were only helping. I had a few good saves, I suppose, but our main tactic was to pass the quaffle to Mona, who was having a great game. She scored one after the other and right when the opposition was catching on to her, she would pass to one of the boys and one of them would put it through the hoops.

"Would you look at that!" Rehmat exclaimed. "Mona Dice scores once again, making the score two hundred to fifty."

Cassie, who had been dutifully circling above and even feinting to confuse the other seeker, swooped down with surprising elegance, for her. "We just need to score one more, and then find the snitch," she said excitedly.

"We haven't won yet," I said.

The quaffle was heading towards us, along with a mass of players, so Cassie flew back up. I stayed low on my broom, so I was more streamlined and could change directions quicker to block the quaffle. I kept my eyes on the approaching chasers, Hugo and Mona in yellow, darting in and out between them, trying to intercept the Gryffindor's passes. Oliver flew perpendicular to the oncoming chasers, trying to force them to slow or turn away from the goal.

And then, a bludger zoomed straight out of the yellow and red uniforms flapping around the brooms. I tore my eyes from the oncoming players, squeezed them shut, and let myself drop over the side of the broom so I was dangling upside down. The bludger flew right overhead without hitting me, but the quaffle was closely behind it.

I cursed.

"That's another point for Gryffindor, making it sixty to two hundred! Can Hufflepuff maintain their lead, or has this turned the tides for the lions?"

I positioned myself on top of the broom once more, mentally kicking myself. I should've stayed where I was. I would've gotten hit by the bludger, but I'd also have been in the right place to stop the quaffle, and we'd only need one more goal before it would be safe for the snitch to be caught.

The Gryffindors seemed to know this, too. I watched as they pressed harder than ever on the Hufflepuff chasers. Hugo panicked and his pass to Oliver got intercepted and brought halfway down the pitch again before Mona realized that the quaffle was heading in the opposite direction.

I heard Geronimo yelling from the other end of the pitch. "No!" 

At the same time, Rehmat's distinctive voice boomed over the roar of the crowd. "The snitch has been caught! Gryffindor wins by ten points!"

 ~~~

"We're a one trick pony," Mona complained, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Stop it and get changed," I told her. I looked around to see if Cassie or any of the other more impressionable members of the team were around. "Please."

Mona wasn't worried about being overheard, though. "We can't expect to win the same way every time. So our Viktor Krum inspired trick worked once, but Krum's famous and practically everybody knows about him. So it's not going to work again. We do have to play at least two more matches, Esther, and we have to win both if we're going to make it to the finals."

"This isn't about making it to the finals," I said, making sure everybody could hear me now. They were already eavesdropping, so I decided they may as well hear my positivity as well as Mona's complaints. "This isn't about making it to the finals, it's about proving to people that Hufflepuff is a force to be reckoned with."

Geronimo came aroun the corner, his yellow Quidditch robes folded over one arm. "Then we should at least win one more match and come third, rather than dead last."

"Which would be typical," Oliver added.

"We're not going to come dead last, and if we do, so what? We won against  _Slytherin_."

"We have to play them again, Essie," said Hugo. The whole team was gathered around now, all looking depressed after our loss.

"Malfoy's not going to be brash in catching the snitch again," Mona said. "He's vain, maybe, but not that dumb."

"We'll think of something," I said, though the team's mood was seeping in, affirming what I already felt at heart. We had won a single game with the tactics I had been so proud of. It was hardly enough, and no matter what I said, I did want to get to the finals. More than anything.

To my surprise, it was Cassie who spoke up. "Stop being so pessimistic. If Esther's unbreakable morale is smashed by you guys, then we'll know we have no chance at all."

She faced the shocked looks of her teammates with a brave expression, her arms crossed over her chest. "I know that I'm the main one letting the team down. There's no need to pretend like I'm some brilliant seeker, because I know I'm not. But I'm doing my best, and I've been improving, right? Don't give up because I'm not performing well."

The team exchanged glances with one another, ones that I couldn't interpret exactly.

"The fact that we lost this game was my fault," I said, "and I'm sorry for that."

"We can't blame you for not wanting to be hit by a bludger," said Cassie. She nudged Hugo in the stomach and he murmured his agreement.

"It was a reaction you couldn't quell," said Geronimo, "but it still cost us the game."

Oliver rounded on him. "Maybe if you, as a beater, had been where you were supposed to be, doing your job, Esther wouldn't have had to dodge that bludger."

"Hey!" I yelled, stepping between them. "Enough fighting. Show this much anger and resolve on the pitch and we'll win for sure."

When the room was silent, the whole team feeling a mixture of anger and sheepishness, I stepped aside and adjusted my shirt. "Look, personally, I'm not leaving the library until we find some other strategy, if winning is that important to you. You're welcome to join me."

There were some muttered responses and the team gradually dispersed, not walking up to the castle in a pack as we normally did, a body of conversation and laughter, but trailing up silently and individually, yellow robes stuffed into our school bags.

 ~~~

Though my Quidditch robes were off, I wasn't leaving the sport on it's field. What happens on the field doesn't stay on the field in a school with one organized sport, and I kept good on my promise to the team, spending all my free moments in the library.

"Having a tough time in Defense without Scorpius's weekly lessons?" Holly asked.

"Not exactly," I said. I lifted up my book so she could read the cover, _The Complete History of the Ballycastle Bats._

"Quidditch research, huh? What's up now?"

"The team's angry after our loss to Gryffindor, and I don't know if we could take it if we lost again."

"But you're playing Slytherin next, right? Shouldn't be a problem."

"As Mona said, Scorpius is vain but he isn't dumb. We're not going to win against them the same way again. They're going to be angry because of how we won last time, and we're going to need new tactics. Hence the books."

Every evening when I retreated to a corner of the library to work, I had a whole stack of them besides me, varying from team histories to dense rule books dating back from the earlier days of Quidditch. And, of course, my Christmas gift from Scorpius was open to one side through all my research. It had handy lists of books to consult for further information at the end of every section on strategy. I had looked through almost all of them.

"Hey, Esther."

I looked up from my work on afternoon to find Cassie and Hugo sitting down in the chairs around my desk. I had been absorbed in a study on broomsticks, stressing out because our match against Slytherin was that weekend. I had even been contemplating asking Scorpius to let Cassie catch the snitch.

"Hey guys," I said, trying to push these thoughts from my mind and sound more confident than I felt. "What's going on?"

"We came to help," said Cassie. "Sorry we didn't come any other night, but we had a killer potions essay to work on all week."

"Understandable," I said. "Thanks for coming at all."

Hugo frowned at that, pulling a book towards him and flipping through the pages absently. "Hasn't anybody else joined in?"

"No. You're the first."

"After all their complaining, I would've at least thought Mona and Geronimo and that would've done the honorable thing and helped with something."

I shrugged. "I don't blame them for not wanting to."

"Why? Haven't you found anything?" Cassie grinned. "I can barely see you behind all those books."

"Not a single one of them has given me any ideas. Okay, that's not true. I had brief inspiration, thinking that one of the others could catch the snitch and give it to Cassie to win the game, but apparently that's -"

"Snitchnip," said Hugo. "Typical mistake for a muggle born to make."

"Hey!"

Hugo threw his hands in the air. "I didn't mean it as an insult. Just that anybody who grew up playing Quidditch might've gotten away with a snitchnip in Little Leagues or a family game but only with a lot of complaining from spectators."

"Fair enough," I said. "There are a lot of Quidditch fouls that I wasn't entirely aware of."

Hugo muttered his agreement, and then stopped moving halfway through turning a page of a Japanese chaser's memoirs. "There are no substitutions allowed in a game, no matter how tired or injured a player is."

"Surely in a  _school_ league they'll let us off," said Cassie. "That's why we have reserves."

"Not really," said Hugo. "The reserves are only if one of us can't play at the beginning of a match for whatever reason."

Cassie frowned and reached for another book.

Hugo slowly closed the volume he was flipping through. I looked back up as he leaned forward across the table.

"I just had an idea."

"Go on then," I said.

"Well," he said slowly, "Esther, are we opposed to playing dirty?"

~~~

"Holy -"

Someone must've slapped a hand over Rehmat's mouth before he could curse, but the awe of the crowd could not be contained in a similar manner. A hush fell over the crowd in immediate aftermath.

"As a result of Gulliver's use of blocking, that was a very near collision for Malfoy, but luckily for Slytherin, their seeker is more resilient than to fall for that textbook foul. However, the penalty gives Slytherin possession of the quaffle, and they're -"

As Heather swooped by, I discreetly gave her the thumbs up.

Despite my misgivings, I had been outvoted, and Hugo's new tactic had won. We were playing dirty, sacrificing our quaffle possession and giving away free throws on my three hoops in order to try and keep Scorpius from the snitch. The team was depending on me to not slip up as I had done in our game against Gryffindor, and keep the quaffle out of our goal posts. And, I hated to think it, I was certain that Geronimo was aiming his bludgers to injury rather than obstruct.

"That move from Dice has been called as a double offense - both cobbing and blurting simultaneously. Those are Dice's third and fourth offenses so far in the game. The quaffle switches possession as a result once again, and the score remains the same as it has been, stuck at fifty to Slytherin, forty to Hufflepuff."

The next player down my end of the pitch was Scorpius, a disgruntled look on his face and Cassie hovering twenty or so feet above him, smiling down on me.

"What are you doing, Esther?" he asked. "Was your beater trying to kill me?"

"What we're doing is winning, hopefully."

Scorpius grinned. "We'll see. You've got quite a lot of points to score to get far enough ahead, and your players seem set on giving up the quaffle."

Rehmat's voice boomed across the pitch before I could respond. "That's going to be another free throw. Only Hufflepuff captain Dursley stands between a twenty point difference between the two teams now."

"I better pay attention to this," I said to Scorpius. "Give me a moment."

When crisis had been averted - I pushed the quaffle away from my post just in time - I looked back up at Scorpius.

"I shouldn't be fraternizing with the enemy," I told him. "Haven't you got a snitch to catch?"

He gave me a mock salute and soared off in the opposite direction, emerald green robes flapping behind him as he flew, body low to his broom.

After several more fouls for blagging, blatching, blurting, and blocking, Slytherin was managing to pull ahead significantly, but the snitch hadn't yet been caught. One of the Slytherin chasers had a sore arm, but that was as far as Geronimo had managed to get in his attempts to severally injured and/or maim, which I was grateful for. But it wasn't bringing the match to a close.

When Scorpius take a steep incline suddenly, I watched as Cassie managed to keep pace for once, using the techniques Hugo and I had been helping her hone to stay streamlined and maneuverable in the air. She was a hair behind Scorpius, but closer than she had been before. The snitch was a blur of gold in front of them, and as Scorpius extended his hand and Rehmat's commentary fired off in my ears, I felt my heart sink.

But, gaining on them quickly, was a flurry of yellow robes. My team, in one last group effort, swooped up and over the two seekers, way above the pitch. I craned my neck along with everyone else in the stadium, struggling for a good view. I watched as Scorpius, green in a sea of yellow, was knocked off his broom by a bludger. He clung to his broom with both hands, struggling to regain his seat. Meanwhile, the rest of the yellow peeled off and dove back towards the pitch and their proper positions, leaving one last Hufflepuff - Cassie.

I watched her small silhouette in the distance continue to climb above Scorpius, still struggling with his broom. She extended her hand and, in a flash, closed her fist.

I held my breath, but my ears were blocking out all noise. I abandoned my goal posts, flying as fast as I could.

"Hey, Esther," said Scorpius when I got close enough to hear him. "Nice view from up here, huh?"

I swooped over and gave him a hand back on to his broom. He ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed. "I swear," he said, "you Hufflepuffs are nuts."

"It's all perfectly legal," I said. "We've paid all the penalties for our actions."

"Nuts," he said. "Completely bonkers."

Cassie dropped down to our altitude, her face red and flushed, her hands shaking as she extended her closed fist towards me.

"Look, Esther," she said, a nervous smile breaking out on her face. "I did it. I caught the snitch."


	17. New Tactics

I leaned forward in my chair and glanced nervously at the rest of my team, sat in a line punctuated with Slytherins across Headmaster McGonagall's office. We were still clad in our yellow robes and Cassie's hands were clenched firmly around the snitch, so tightly that her knuckles were white. The atmosphere wasn't euphoric, however, but tense as we waited for the final verdict from the group of professors who had gathered in a room off of the main office. None of us spoke. Heather chewed her nails with anxiety, a Slytherin coughed, and I could feel Scorpius's eyes boring into the back of my head.

"Quite controversial," said one of the paintings above me. I couldn't recognize the Headmistress, but she had crammed herself into a frame with three other past headmasters of Hogwarts, and they were obviously discussing us. She opened her mouth to continue but one of the others clamped a hand over her mouth before us students could hear.

When the teachers walked back in, headed by McGonagall, we all straightened our backs simultaneously, and the quiet whisperings of the paintings above ceased at once.

"Now, while I tell you what we've decided, we don't want any interruptions," said McGonagall, clasping her hands in front of her as she looked down at us from behind her desk. "I want you to be aware that one team is going to leave this room very disappointed, and another very happy, but that I expect both to act with only the best sportsmanship."

There was a chorus of agreement from the two Quidditch teams.

McGonagall looked to Cassie. "You can relinquish the snitch, Ms. Klein."

She shook her head. "I never want to let it go. If that's okay with you, of course, Professor."

There were some sneers from the Slytherins in the room, but a curt glance from McGonagall quickly silenced them.

"I'll only be taking it for one moment," she said.

Cassie reluctantly handed over the snitch, and McGonagall passed it to Scorpius, who reached out and touched it. I held my breath, but the snitch did not react to him. When it was passed begrudgingly back to Cassie, however, the snitch unfolded its wings and struggled to escape Cassie's now-firm grasp.

"So there hasn't been a snitchnip," said Professor Longbottom.

I frowned at that.  _They're dubious that Cassie actually caught it?_

He must've caught my look, because he clarified. "We wanted to make sure that with all the fouling that occured in that game, a snitchnip wasn't one of them."

 _Okay_ , I admitted.  _That's reasonable._

McGonagall took over again. "I never would've expected such a dirty match from students, especially not from Hufflepuffs. As you've surely guessed, we've been contemplating punishing the team for their brazen actions on the field today."

I hesitantly raised my hand, but was ignored as McGonagall pressed on. "We have done a careful evaluation of the match, however. Every foul was called and the penalties were given for each one."

This time it was Scorpius's hand that was ignored.

"The matter of the end of the match required further discussion, as you may have guessed. What looked to many of the spectators today like a blatant display of blocking required some evaluation. A penalty shot is normally awarded as a result of this foul, but as the snitch was caught by Ms. Klein before this could occur, ending the game, this left an unresolved foul that we have decided should cost the game."

The Slytherins moved to rejoice, while my team's hearts all sunk, Cassie's especially. McGonagall's steely look kept us quiet, however.

"However, as we all recounted our own tale of what occurred in those final few seconds, we came to realize that this was not a case of blocking as we assumed due to the high amount of fouls that had occurred throughout the match. Instead, Mr. Malfoy was circled by Hufflepuff players, as you are all aware, but they did not obstruct his path to the snitch. It was a bludger that ultimately knocked him from his broom and cost Slytherin the match, a perfectly legal, un-foulable event in a game of Quidditch."

I bit my lip, tasting blood, and I was sat on the edge of my chair. I could hear Slytherins and Hufflepuff's alike holding their breath.

"Thus, as there were no unresolved fouls, Hufflepuff has fairly won the match."

It took amazing willpower for the fourteen or so students to hold their tongues as we were dismissed from the room. The paintings up on the walls showed no such constraint, and burst into loud whoops and arguments almost immediately. I exchanged awed looks with my team as we rose from our seats, thanked the professors in the room, and moved towards the doors. My pride nearly burst as I saw Geronimo quickly pat Cassie on the back.

"Ms. Dursley, remain for one moment."

I stopped in my tracks and turned back to face Headmistress McGonagall.

"Tell me, why would you advocate for such tactics in a school match? Does winning mean that much to you?"

"It means that much to the rest of the team, Professor," I said, "and I was outvoted on the matter."

"Quite un-Hufflepuff," came a cry from one of the paintings nearby.

I turned to face him. "Not exactly," I said. "It took dedication to research all the fouls and diligence to come up with an exact plan for winning the game. Those are Hufflepuff traits, and we did it to prove ourselves as a house. We may not have played very fair, but we can't always be expected to fill out every aspect of our house at once, can we?"

"Certainly not," said McGonagall, nodding her head. I may have been imagining it, but I thought I saw the slightest of smiles. "It was a brave move and we will allow it this once. If that many fouls occurs in another match again, however, your team may have to sacrifice the win. I personally would like to see Hufflepuff house win on more honorable terms next time, but I do agree that the house traits need to be stretched every once and a while." This time, I definitely saw the smile. "You're dismissed, Ms. Dursley. I'm sure you have an important announcement to make back at the Hufflepuff common room."

"Yes, Professor," I said. "Thank you."

~~~

Cassie was waiting in the hallway when I got out of the office, hopping from foot to foot. "Hey, Esther."

"Hey. Thanks for waiting."

"Uh," she said, "I just wanted to thank you."

"Oh. There's no need, Cassie."

Cassie looked at her feet. "Yes there is. If it wasn't for you giving me all that extra training, I wouldn't have been able to catch the snitch. Not to mention all your support. Nobody else on the team, except maybe Hugo, really believes in me like you do."

I smiled at her, touched. "Thanks for working so hard," I said.

She smiled back.

"Come on," I said. "We should get back to the common room before one of the others can announce the news that you should rightfully be telling."

~~~

Scorpius's rant on sportsmanship lasted at least ten minutes and included a lengthy example from a Quidditch World Cup final match.

"No need to go on, Scorpius," I said, before he could launch into a more detailed history of snitchnip. "You got your point through fairly succinctly by now. I understood twenty minutes ago, and so did everybody else in the library."

He frowned, but slouched in his chair, which I knew meant he was done and we were friends again. "You and your stupid tactics. How did they let you get away with that?"

"Don't get hit by bludgers," I said, setting my quill down. "It cost me the match, too."

"Against Gryffindor, which doesn't mean anything because they're undefeated. As usual. Stupid Albus Potter and his stupid Quidditch genes."

"It's not his fault his mum played professionally."

Scorpius crossed his arms. "It's not my fault mine didn't."

I laughed. "You're starting to sound ridiculous, even for you."

"Hey!"

"I can't believe it," I said, ignoring him and flipping the page in my textbook. "One more match and then we're in the finals."

"That's only if you beat Ravenclaw," he said.

"I've put in the work and the effort, and so has the rest of my team. That's what we Hufflepuffs tend to do, you see. So I'm fairly confident."

"Only fairly confident?"

"It translates to me not being very confident," I admitted. "We got away with hundreds of fouls once, but McGonagall's not going to allow it again. She told me definitively. I need a new tactic. Again. This is starting to get a bit repetitive." 

As I said it, though, there was still a glimmer of hope. Cassie had officially caught the snitch, and the change in her person was obvious and great. She was bouncing around the halls, laughing loudly and smiling often. Hugo confided that she had told the story of how she caught the snitch to anybody who would listen to the point of annoyance, but that she was always thanking the rest of the team profusely in her stories. If she went into our match against Ravenclaw with this newfound confidence, we might be able to play a normal match, and win in the normal way.

There was a flurry of noise and a cloud of curly hair as Holly arrived, stopping her momentum by slamming into the desk, sending Scorpius's school books clattering off the end of the desk, on to the floor. He frowned at her and I, out of old habit, stooped to pick them before he whisked out his wand and used a spell to return them to a neat pile.

"Look at the pair of you. Quidditch nerds," said Holly, beaming. She caught my eye and subtly raised her eyebrows.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" I asked her, ignoring her unspoken comment through eyebrow movement. "I'll wear that badge with pride."

Holly was now ignoring me. "Hello, Scorpius."

"Hello, Holly," he said.

"Hello, Esther," I said. "There. Now we've all said hello."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at me before turning to Holly. "So, any luck with Sawyer?"

"Not much," she said, "which is why I wanted so badly to talk to you two together. I've been doing my best to figure him out, but he's an enigma. I swear, he's got some kind of unbreakable binding spell on his secrets, and they're buried deep, deep down inside him. He won't budge."

"But he's still talking to you," I said.

"Yes, but I've had to be careful about how much I prod him, because I'm sure he'd give me the silent treatment in the blink of an eye. We need a new tactic, and that's why I've gathered you too."

I exchanged a look with Scorpius. "What are you suggesting?" he asked. "Sawyer doesn't talk to Esther anymore and he hates me. I don't see what we can do."

"You two are resourceful. Well, Esther's resourceful and diligent while you're cunning. I've got the wisdom. We're an interhouse dream team. We should be able to think of  _something_ that could get Sawyer to cooperate with us."

"I know," I said. "You can come up with an elaborately genius plan, Scorpius can use some unforgivable curses, and I'll cheer you on from the sidelines like a good Hufflepuff."

"Oh, don't get angry. I was using good stereotypes, Essie!"

"Well, I've had enough of all stereotypes, good or bad."

Scorpius studied his nails. "I don't know. The Imperius Curse might work a treat in this situation."

I kicked him and he gave me a wicked grin.

"We need to force it out of him, but not literally force it," said Holly.

"Nicely put," I teased, "but how do we do that? He won't tell you and he certainly won't tell Scorpius and I, and I'm assuming you don't want to resort to tricks or unforgivable curses."

"No."

"What are the possibilities?" Scorpius asked. "You two are his best friends. He can't have come up with this issue out of the blue, so you should know something. Anything suspicious he's said in the past six years could come in useful right now."

"I don't know," I said. "Holly?"

She shrugged. "He sort of did come up with it out of the blue, which is the issue. Unless there's something he's been hiding from literally everybody, including us."

"So his issue only came about once I started talking to Esther. The most obvious reasons for that would be that he has a crush on one of us and is jealous."

"I'm pretty sure he's straight, so don't go getting any ideas," I told him, blushing slightly.

"I'm just trying to think of all the possibilities. If he's been anti-Slytherin for his whole life, it could explain why he would be so adamant about not telling us this entire time."

"What else?" I asked. "Any reasonable ideas?"

"Hey!"

Holly grabbed a handful of her long, unruly curls and hid her face in them. "I'm not thinking of anything he's ever said that could help us. I acted like I knew what I was doing for a while, but I really don't know what we can do about this at all."

"How badly do you want to solve the problem, though?" Scorpius asked.

"He's my friend," I said indignantly.

"Really? Because he hasn't been acting like it. Frankly, he's been acting like a first year, and an immature one at that. He hasn't spoken to you for weeks now, and all because you made a new friend and he couldn't dominate every second of your time."

"I did go behind his back, Scorpius."

"Yes, but only because he made a huge fuss and would throw a tantrum if he found out. Which he's now done. He won't talk to you and you don't really know why, which is why we're trying to think of ways of solving the issue without knowing what the issue is, which is rather impossible, Esther. Sawyer's hardly being a good friend, and he still hasn't approached you even though you've done what he wanted and left him alone for a while. He should stop being unreasonable and come out with what his problem is ad you should forget about it until then."

His point made, Scorpius crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, his eyes piercing me, daring me to rebuttle. Instead, I looked away, biting my lip and thinking.  _He says the things that I don't let myself think, even when somewhere inside me I agree. his is why I still manage to be friends with Scorpius, even though he comes out with statements like that._

Holly clenched her fists, glaring at Scorpius. "I can't believe you just said that. Sawyer's been our friend for six years."

At least someone was convicted of that fact. "He has a point," I said. "You have to admit it."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I want it said aloud by the possible cause of Sawyer's problem!"

"I can't fight you there."

Scorpius's defiant scowl drooped and he slumped, relaxing his resolve. "Sorry, you two. I didn't mean to offend you or insult your relationship with Sawyer or anything like that. I hope I haven't screwed anything over between us now, too."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I half agree with you anyway."

"Look, we'll find a way of solving your Sawyer issues," he said. "I'll talk with the Slytherins. Like, really talk to them about it, until we figure out what it is. Holly, maybe if you stop talking with Sawyer, too, he'll turn around and realize that he needs to tell us what his issue is. He might be looking for something like that to give him an opportunity to tell us when he's the one initiating and in charge of the situation."

"Right," I agreed. "When Holly's bombarding him with constant questions, it immediately puts him on the defensive."

Holly nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "I think we might be getting somewhere with this."

"About time," I said. "I just hope it finally works."

"So Esther," Scorpius said, "what are your tactics going to be in the match against Ravenclaw?"

He smirked, and I whacked him over the head with my book.

Holly sighed. "This meeting is hereby adjourned."


	18. Metaphorically

"Here we go," said Heather. "Feeling good?"

Cassie tied her hair back and bit her lip. "I don't know if I -"

Mona slapped a hand on Cassie's shoulder before she could continue. "Sure you can. You caught the snitch last game, didn't you?"

I felt a smile coming but tried to suppress it as I listened.

"Only because -"

"Well, we're not allowed to foul so often anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't catch the snitch. Malfoy's broom is a lot faster than Beard's. For sure." Mona gave Cassie a sure smile and then turned to me. "Speaking of Malfoy. Don't get changed just yet, Esther. He's outside waiting for you."

"Scorpius?" I asked.

Mona nodded. "Wants to see you." She smirked. "Apparently it's urgent."

I folded my Quidditch robes back up and walked out of the room. Scorpius was waiting for me outside the locker rooms, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hey," I said. "If you weren't aware, I've got an important match soon and I'm not yet in my robes."

"It won't take long," he said. "I just wanted to say that I was rooting for you. Good luck and that."

"Thanks. Any particular reason you needed to tell me this, though?"

"This is the semifinals, Esther."

"Yes?"

"If you win this, you'll be through to the finals. Slytherin slipped up against Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor is undefeated, remember? That means either you or Ravenclaw is going in to the finals."

My eyes probably tripled in size. "Oh."

"Were you not aware?"

"Not completely."

Scorpius smiled. "You really are a Hufflepuff."

"Through and through. In what way are you saying this time, though?"

"You want to win so badly but are so caught up in diligently working out strategies that you are in no way aware of the rankings or the enormity of the upcoming match."

"Okay, you're freaking me out now," I said. "I liked it better when you were rooting for me."

"Still am," he said. "I don't care about Ravenclaw too much and want Albus Potter's head bashed in by a bludger."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Metaphorically speaking," said Scorpius, grinning.

"Nice metaphor."

"Not entirely sure what it's a metaphor for."

"Me neither."

"Reminds me," he said. "Holly sent a message."

"Oh? Something about Ravenclaw's superiority?"

"You got it." Scorpius stuck his hands into his pockets. "You should probably go play some Quidditch, you Hufflepuff."

"Go watch some Quidditch, you Slytherin. You have to get a good view of the incredible playing that's about to happen."

"I look forward to it," he said. "Later, Dursley."

He raised his hand and saluted me before disappearing.

~~~

In a sentence; my team was working together seamlessly.

In a paragraph; Yellow streaked across the pitch, followed by a blur of blue. Cassie was the seeker being followed rather than the seeker following for once. Geronimo swooped close by, but not to foul. Instead, he inched in the way of the bludger just in time to send it spinning away, allowing Cassie to keep her focus on the snitch a few feet in front of her. Heather intercepted the bludger and targeted a Ravenclaw chaser, causing him to fumble his shot on target, making it an easy save for me. Mona soared in an arc, the quaffle landing neatly in one hand. Hugo and Oliver flanked her, driving straight through the Ravenclaw chasers and I felt ready to burst with pride.

I knew that we had won our game against Slytherin fairly dishonestly, but apparently a single victory had been enough to boost everybody's confidence enough to play an incredible - and more importantly, clean - game. True Hufflepuff fashion.

Rehmat was firing off comments so fast, I could barely keep up with him. "Looked like a good clean pass to Weasley, but perhaps that's only the angle. Unfortunate for Hufflepuff there as Ravenclaw's Henson regains possession. Meanwhile, it looks like the seekers have lost sight of the snitch again. That's the third false alarm in this game alone, each and every one led by Hufflepuff. It seems that after she caught the snitch when Hufflepuff played Slytherin, Klein simply cannot be stopped!"

It was true. Maybe it was the confidence boost that our victory had given her, maybe it was because the weather was the clearest it had been in a long time, but she was suddenly more capable at seeing the snitch than she ever had been before. Even though we were using our same old World Cup inspired tactics, Ravenclaw was either falling for it or incapable of defending against it, and Cassie seemed to be gearing up to catch the snitch regardless.

When the quaffle was heading away from me again, I risked a quick look up into the stands. There was a sea of yellow directly to my right, the group along the edges waving their scarves enthusiastically. I could make out Holly's blue sweater and head of unruly curls among the yellow and, through processes of deduction, noticed Sawyer's darker hair beside her. Though he looked fairly unhappy about the whole affair, I was glad he had at least shown up.

"Nice shot by Dice makes the score ten to one-fifty with Ravenclaw leading. It's Ludwig to Henson, a nice toss up to Rush who dives down. Dunlop can't quite intercept but that was a valiant effort and it's between Rush and Dursley now."

I kept one hand on my broom, one ready to block the shot. When Rush threw the quaffle, I dodged right, my hand outstretched, but wasn't quick enough. My fingers skimmed the material of the ball and while it started a topspin, it didn't knock the quaffle off course. It sailed through my right hoop, the telltale ding ringing out across the stadium. Cursing, I spiraled back and caught the quaffle, tossing it up to an expectant Hugo, who pointed his broom up to dodge a bludger.

Heather flew in to redirect it. "No worries, Esther. Couldn't quite get the bludger over in enough time to intercept," she called, assuaging my nerves. "And Cassie's on top form. Think we'll get another one fiifty from her?"

"Fingers crossed," I shouted back.

I hovered in front of my goal posts, feeling slightly awkward as I always did after letting in a goal. The game moved quickly. I saved three more shots, though one was a close call and I had to deflect it using my head. That one got some laughs from the crowd, as well. Mona scored twice and I held by breath as Oliver's shot went awry, only to be fumbled by the flustered goalkeeper and accidentally knocked through a hoop.

That put us far enough ahead for anybody to catch the snitch and have us win.

I watched as Hugo dove underneath a Ravenclaw beater and passed backwards to Oliver - a move they had been working to perfect during practice. As the most active of our seekers, Mona knew that the opposition would worry most about her, so she hung back, distracting two of the Ravenclaws long enough for Hugo and Oliver to slip through and approach the hoops.

Unfortunately, though, the beaters in blue weren't so easily caught off guard. A burly seventh year glided into place, using both hands to whack a bludger towards the oncoming Hufflepuff chasers. The smack resonated across the pitch, making me wince.

I winced harder when I saw the damage the bludger would do, but not as bad as Hugo would.

The Hufflepuff crowd was sent into a noisy panic and Rehmat's commentary was cut off as they watched what happened. The bludger hit the broom right where Hugo's hand was positioned and the force pushed him hard enough that he slipped right off, tumbling head over heels towards the green beneath, the quaffle falling after him and the pieces of his broken broom.

"Well," said Rehmat. "That doesn't look good."

Despite myself, I directed my broom and zoomed as fast as I could toward him, dodging a Ravenclaw beater and catching up with others in yellow trying to rescue Hugo. One of the Hufflepuffs peeled off to the right, but I took no notice, my attention on Hugo and the quaffle.

I was forced to skid to a stop as fast as I could to avoid colliding with Geronimo, who had reached the scene first. He swooped underneath Hugo, awkwardly grabbing his robes. Hugo was able to grab at Geronimo's broom. The two of them began descending quickly from the added weight as they struggled to get Hugo securely on to the broomstick, but I approached at a more controlled speed and secured them enough.

Rehmat had started up again, at an even faster pace than before. "In the aftermath, Ludwig secures the quaffle, bringing back towards Hufflepuff defense, but Dursley is halfway down the pitch, concerned with the state of her chaser at the moment. It's Ludwig...Henson...back to Ludwig, with Henson and Hufflepuff's Dunlop following behind."

As he spoke, I was hit on the head from above, where Mona was hovering. "Esther! What the hell are you doing? Get back to your posts! We can't let in a goal now!"

She pointed urgently at the chaser with the quaffle. I looked to Hugo, whose face was white.

"My broom," he whimpered. "That was a gift."

I wanted that beater's face bashed in with a bludger. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Geronimo also gestured towards my posts, breaking me out of my furious thoughts. "I'll get him to the ground. Get moving!"

I saw sense and obeyed, swooping in an arc and flying back as fast as my broom would take me. Luckily Heather and Oliver were still focusing and kept the chasers back long enough so I could dive in front of the incoming quaffle. I didn't have enough time to get close enough to catch, but by throwing out my hand and hitting with my palm, I knocked it off course enough that it bounced off the hoop and didn't fall through.

Oliver whooped. "Nicely done, captain!"

I had to sit still on my broom and take a breather after that, using the time to think through what had happened. We were going to be forced to play a man down until the rest of the match, because Hugo's hand was most likely broken and his broom smashed to pieces as well. Mona and Oliver's options were more limited and the job of the defense was made easier as there was no longer a third person they could pass to. A pass was intercepted and I could see Mona cursing under her breath as she flattened herself against her broom and darted between the Ravenclaw chasers as they headed back towards me.

"-and in the midst of all that commotion surrounding Weasley, Klein has found sight of the snitch once again! Ravenclaw seeker Xander Beard is struggling to keep up as they move quickly towards the Ravenclaw section of the stands. I can definitely see a blur of gold and...did she do it?"

The blue robes overtook the yellow. Cassie sat on her broom as Beard rocketed forward, snitch in hand.

The game was over, so I was able to safely leave my three posts undefended and land as quickly as I could, running across the field to the locker rooms, where Hugo had been escorted after Geronimo dropped him off. The rest of the team joined me, whooping and cheering.

"Esther! Esther!"

Mona tried to throw an arm around me but I pushed it back off.

"Where's Hugo?" I asked. "How badly is he hurt?"

"Nothing permanent," said Mona. "We'll all go up and bring him chocolates in a minute."

"Aren't you concerned?"

"Of course we are," said Geronimo, "but we just won the match, Esther."

I froze. "Did we?"

Cassie grinned and gave me the thumbs up. "I kept pretending I had seen the snitch to put Xander on edge. When I actually did see the snitch, I purposefully missed it. He was panicking enough to catch it while we were still far enough ahead with the points."

I raised my eyebrows. "And you didn't tell me?"

Cassie frowned. "We weren't sure whether or not it would work, and didn't want to worry you."

"My idea," said Mona, beaming. "You're welcome."

~~~

I stopped in front of Hugo's bed, letting out an involuntary, "Oh."

Rose Weasley looked up from where she was sat, in the chair besides her brother's bed. She had pinched one of his chocolate frogs and had the card on her lap. "Hello, Esther. Hugo's asleep."

"Right."

There were a few moments of silence.

"I'll come back later," I said.

"Do you have something to tell him or are you just here to see him? There's no need for you to rush off because I'm here." Rose pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, looking awkward. "I'll leave if you'd prefer to see Hugo alone."

"No, it's okay. It was stupid of me to not realize that family would want to visit him. I've already been over once with the Quidditch team. You take all the time you need."

Rose gave a small smile. "He's got a broken hand, Esther. Nothing Skelegro can't fix."

"I know. Sorry, Rose. I'm...nervous, is all."

"Because of me?"

I faltered.

Rose's shoulders slumped and she glanced at Hugo, who was drooling in his sleep, one arm throw up over his face. "You and Hugo get along so well nowadays. I don't know why it should still feel awkward between you and I."

"We've never spoken very much," I said, "and I hadn't had any reason to talk with Hugo extensively until he tried out for Quidditch this year."

"That's true," said Rose. "Maybe we should start to talk more, Esther, and we stop having awkward, unpleasant meetings."

It was strange; how when somebody else voiced their problems, ones so similar to mine, I always had a solution or explanation right on hand. Yet when I thought about the problems in context with myself, they always seemed inconquerable. Was that the root of my issue with the Potters? That we had never interacted enough to get to know each other beyond our preconceived notions that we inherited from our parents?

Watching Hugo sleep, I was starting to think that that was it all was after all.

"I'd like that a lot," I said.

"It's funny," she said, "that my feelings towards you have always been an involuntary reaction, I think. You seem like a very nice person, someone I could get along with splendidly. But because of the relationship our parents had, I feel like wanting to be your friend would be taboo."

"I understand. It's how I feel, too."

"I got over Scorpius's family baggage very quickly, but never made it to you. That's inexcusable."

I shrugged. "Don't blame yourself. Like you said, it was involuntary, and I wasn't exactly helping matters by acting the same way."

"Well," said Rose. "It's good that we're on the same page."

I grinned. "Yes."

"You've done wonders with Hugo," she said. "I never would've expected him to be such a great Quidditch player." Her eyes widened. "That's not what I meant. I never expected him to be as confident and assure in his skill as he is. Oh dear. That still doesn't sound right."

"You didn't expect so much of Hufflepuffs," I said, shrugging. "It's fine, Rose. I am a badger myself. It's not like I haven't heard it before."

"I didn't mean that either. You're putting words in my mouth, or false meaning to my words. One or the other. I would never underestimate a Hufflepuff. There are lots of great people from your house. Newt Scamander, for one."

Rose passed me the chocolate frog card on her lap, though Scamander had long since found more interesting places to be, leaving his picture empty. Rose turned red when she had to pause and think of more Hufflepuffs.

"Cedric Diggory," I offered. "Helga Hufflepuff herself."

"Artemisia Lufkin" said Rose, perking up. "She was the first female Minsister for Magic and a Hufflepuff! The Hufflepuff Bridget Wenlock was first to realize that the number seven has magical properties and the least number of dark wizards and witches come from your house."

I nodded. "In some views, that makes us boring."

"Or just better people."

"Not quite," I said. "When Hugo got injured on the pitch, I wanted to smash that beater's face in. Metaphorically, I suppose, but all the same."

She laughed. "That's loyalty right there, and dedication to your team." She patted Hugo's hand and smiled. "You badgers are through to the final, then."

"Who are you rooting for?"

"Now my own house has been knocked out, I'm not sure," she said. "I never had to choose like this before."

"No," I said. "When was the last time Hufflepuff went to the finals?"

"Teddy Lupin brought the team there," she said. "That was the first time in a long time, though. That team wasn't led by a muggleborn, either."

I turned red around the ears.

"That was meant as a compliment, Esther," she said. "I think it's incredible what you've done. You hadn't touched a broomstick until first year and you didn't know what Quidditch even  _was_ but now you're captain of a Quidditch team that's made it to the finals. You should be proud. I know Hugo has tons of respect for you."

I turned even redder. "Thanks, Rose."

"Any time."

I finally sat down, perching on the edge of Hugo's bed, watching his chest slowly rise and fall with sleep. Rose and I sat together in companionable silence until we were shooed away. We weren't looking at each other or saying anything, but it was nice all the same, knowing that the chasm we had both saw between us had been a mirage all along.


	19. Conversations

Cassie sat with Heather on the lawn, their schoolbooks open on the grass in front of them. I meant only to wave as I passed by on my way back up to the castle from Herbology, but they enthusiastically beckoned me over. I looked up. It was a clear day, warm and sunny. I relented without much pressure and joined them by the lake.

"We were just talking about you," said Heather.

Cassie nodded. "Good things. In conjunction with Quidditch. I can't believe we're through to the finals."

"Well, with all our hard work, we earned it," I said.

Cassie smiled. "Spoken like a true captain. Come on. You must have had some doubts down the line. Mainly about me, I'm sure."

I shrugged.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"It's amazing how far we've come," said Heather.

Cassie nodded enthusiastically. "I know. I could barely ride a broom before Esther started meeting with me privately."

"Don't put yourself down," I said.

"It doesn't really matter now, though, does it?" Cassie asked. "I've caught the snitch and helped trick Beard last game. Surely I've improved enough to scorn my past self?"

Heather changed the topic. "Speaking of Quidditch, how's Hugo? I haven't seen him around. Is he out of the hospital wing yet?"

"Should be, later today," said Cassie. "We're waiting for the last of the Skelegro to work now."

The topic of the conversation changed, leaving me feeling out of place as they spoke about the drama of the younger years, of people that I knew by sight in the hallways but nothing else about. I said goodbye and decided to skip out on the library, as I had intended to visit, and instead go straight to the dining hall for dinner.

I was overtaken by Scorpius on my way and he smiled at me, but that was all. He was surrounded by his Slytherin friends, who were laughing at something that occurred during one of their classes. I watched them go, the ends of their cloaks the last thing to sweep around the entrance to the hall.

"Esther!"

I turned on my heel and walked backwards as I located the source of the voice. It was Holly, a little way down the hall, tie askew. She jogged down the hall towards me, bag bouncing against her hip.

"Esther, I need to talk to you about something."

Holly's words jolted through me, forcing my mind through every possible explanation for them, ridiculous or otherwise. Were Hugo's injuries worse than originally thought, or had we been disqualified from the Quidditch final for some reason? Or - perhaps the best yet most terrifying prospect - had she finally discovered the secret that Sawyer has been hiding from us for so long?

I forced myself to calm down.

"I'm always here to listen," I said.

Holly grabbed me by the hand and pulled me down the corridor, away from the bustling entrance to the Great Hall. When we were safely tucked into a nook down the hallway, only the occasional latecomer passing by, she bit her lip and started to quake.

My brain worked overdrive, producing terrible scenarios as fast as it could. "Oh, Holly! What is it?"

Her hair was a mess, obscuring her face as she trembled. "I got kept back by Venables after Defense today, because my grades are so bad."

The horrific scenarios stopped at once and I was left with a nauseating realization. All of my worries had been based on the assumption that Holly had news that pertained to _me_. I hadn't thought that she could have wanted a confidant for something bother her. She had been so committed to helping me with Quidditch and Sawyer, the two things that were also occupying all of my mental power and energy, that I had forgotten that Holly could have worries of her own.

Did this make me a bad Hufflepuff?

Of course, I didn't voice any of this to Holly. That would be turning the topic back to me. Again.

Instead, I pulled her in to a hug and stroked her curls. "Hey," I said. "You're a Ravenclaw. You can pull yourself out of this." I paused. "Let me rephrase that, as I'm not one to advocate for house stereotypes. I think that we should figure out why your grades are slipping and work from there. You're usually quite good at being lazy and still getting good grades."

Holly elicited a bitter laugh as she stepped back from me, wiping her eyes. "I don't know what it is, though."

"There's got to be something, right? Sawyer didn't stop talking to me for no reason, though we may not know what it is. We know the effect without knowing the cause, and it's the same for you. We'll figure it out. I don't think you should worry so much about it. I suck at Defense, too."

"But I am worrying," she said, voice breaking. "I'm _really_ worried, Essie. What if...if this means that I'm not smart? I always thought I was pretty intelligent and now look at me! How can I be called a Ravenclaw, be called smart, and have my grades fall so low?"

I thought for a minute. Holly was a Ravenclaw with bad grades. I was a Hufflepuff that was thinking only about herself.

"This has nothing to do with your intelligence," I said. "You're thinking too much about conforming to the role of your house. Ravenclaws are smart, and you're smart. Maybe your issue could be easily fixed if you worked a bit harder, were a bit more diligent about your homework. This is sixth year, so it's more difficult than it's been before. We've got to be prepared for N.E.W.T.S. soon."

"Diligence is a Hufflepuff trait," she said, grinning.

"Yes," I said, "and I think you'll find that nobody fits into the boxes that we're forced into. I'm a selfish Hufflepuff, you're a lazy Ravenclaw. Gryffindors can be cunning sometimes and Slytherins can be wise, or loyal. They're all human traits that anybody can have. You're sorted into the house that suits you best, not a house that suits you perfectly. We're all trying to cram ourselves into one box when we're really spilling over into all four of them."

Holly smiled at me. "You should give up Quidditch and quit school and become a philosopher."

"We're having a lot of similar problems," I said. "We're growing up, trying to find our place in the world -"

Holly rolled her eyes, which I was glad to see were free of tears.

"-and that's always going to be slightly awkward, right? Nobody knows where they fit or who they are. We're all working to figure that out, and the process is messy and weird and awkward and it sucks, but we'll get there eventually."

"Seriously," she said. "Write a book. Make millions."

I frowned, crossing my arms defensively. "I have a lot of thoughts on the subject, that's all."

Holly nodded. "And I'm glad for it."

I linked my arm in hers and began to steer her towards the dining hall. "Have you eaten yet? I'm starving."

"Oh, Esther. I have other news."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Sawyer's willing to talk with you."

~~~

It was awkward, and that's putting it lightly.

We were in the old classroom Scorpius and I had used for our Defense lessons. We had pulled four desks into a circle, with Sawyer and I facing one another and Scorpius and Holly on either side. For the first few minutes, nobody said anything. Sawyer stared at his shoes; Scorpius stared blatantly at Sawyer, his feet up on the desk in front of him; Holly had a grim expression on her face; I glanced back and forth between everybody.

"Thanks for agreeing to talk," I said finally.

Sawyer nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Get on with it, then," said Scorpius.

"Hey!" I warned.

Sawyer held up his hand. "No, he's right. I agreed to talk with you, Esther, and curfew is in fifteen minutes. I can't exactly procrastinate until then, no matter how badly I want to."

Holly laid a hand on Sawyer's shoulder. "You don't have to rush this."

Scorpius turned to her. "Wait. Do you know what his problem is?"

"It's not a problem, per se," said Holly, "but yes. I know what's been bothering Sawyer."

"And you hadn't told us? How long have you known?"

"Scorpius, relax," I said. "It wasn't her place to tell."

Holly nodded. "I haven't known for that long."

All eyes turned expectantly to Sawyer, who blushed bright red and continued staring at his feet.

"You said so yourself," said Scorpius. "We haven't got all day."

"Okay, okay," said Sawyer. "I'll come out with it."

But he continued to sit there, trying to find the words to explain.

"Why don't I explain first?" I suggested, before Scorpius could continue to pressure Sawyer. "I'm sorry for studying with Scorpius behind your back, Sawyer, but I thought it was unreasonable to have to choose between the two of you when I don't know what your problem with him is. I wasn't trying to hurt you and I hope we can remedy this in a way that I can be friends with both of you."

Sawyer gave me an appreciative look. "So do I. I'm sorry for being unreasonable. You should be able to be friends with whomever you want. It's not your fault that I'm...insecure."

Holly scooted closer to him, and from the concerned look on her face I could gather that Sawyer was about to come out with his secret.

"Look, my problem isn't really with Scorpius. It's with his friends."

Scorpius frowned, but said nothing.

"Sorry, dude," said Sawyer, his voice beginning to shake, "but your friend Sullivan is a bigot. A homophobic bigot."

The room was silent.

"It's not just him, or even mainly him, but he's part of the group," said Sawyer, "and because he's your friend I immediately associated you with him and all that."

Scorpius was sitting upright now, his feet planted firmly on the ground. "What group?"

"A couple of Slytherins who pick on me because of my dads." Sawyer rubbed angrily at his eyes. "I know it's ridiculous to have judged you and all other Slytherins because of it, but they make me feel terrible about myself and my family. They ask how I can be a wizard when I'm adopted, really invasive stuff about my dads and life at home, and wonder aloud whether being gay can be inherited. They ask me all sorts of stupid questions just to make me uncomfortable, and have for a couple years now."

My jaw dropped. "When does this happen?"

"You don't take Ancient Runes."

I tried to comprehend it. In the whole course of my time at Hogwarts, in one of the very few classes I didn't have with Sawyer, he was being bullied. In the few short hours I wasn't around him, he went through this torment and never told me or Holly about it.

"Why wouldn't you tell us this?" I asked, suddenly becoming angry. "We could've sorted this out ages ago."

Scorpius was nodding, his fists clenched in anger.

"I'm embarrassed about it," he said, letting Holly wrap her arms around him. "I guess the fact that I have two dads makes me self conscious. It's all anybody can ever comment on."

"Oh, Sawyer."

I was across the small circle of desks in an instant, my arms around both him and Holly at once.

"Don't you hate me?"

I glanced at Scorpius, who was looking uncomfortable watching our hug, and used his words. "I don't hate you, though for a time I sort of wanted to bash your face in," I said. "Metaphorically."

Scorpius snorted.

Sawyer pushed his way out of the tangle of arms and raised his eyebrows at me. I couldn't help but feel a pang of joy. This was the Sawyer I knew. "How is that a metaphor?" he asked.

"It's not. More of a hyperbole, I guess, or a joke with some truth thrown in."

"Truth?"

"You're taking it literally, Sawyer. I don't really want to see you maimed, and I didn't at any time in the past either, no matter how angry I was with you. It's easier to exaggerate because it gets the truth across without taking it too seriously." I paused, wondering whether I was veering too far off topic. "It's safer. It makes it easier."

Sawyer still looked confused.

"It wasn't the best thing I could've said," I admitted.

"No," he said, "but I sort of wanted to bash your face in, too."

"We all wanted to bash each others faces in," said Holly. "I think that's what friendship is; knowing that despite how incredibly annoying someone can be, that in the end you love them."

"You know whose face I want to bash in?" Scorpius asked.

We turned to look at him.

"Sullivan."

"Not Sullivan," said Sawyer. "Wilbanks is the leader of the thing."

"Wilbanks?" Scorpius scowled. "Great. He's one of my chasers. Now it's getting really personal. Who else takes part?"

"Um. That girl Octavia, Sullivan, Wilbanks, and maybe one or two others."

I gave Scorpius a suspicious look. "What are you planning?"

"Don't worry, Esther. _We_ are planning a little revenge."

 


	20. Revenge

Our revenge did not come to fruition until late on Saturday the following weekend, as it needed some preparation.

Not much, mind you. Scorpius had his mind set on a duel, and Sawyer agreed, so we needed to secure a time and place. We opted for our usual spot - the empty classroom that Scorpius and I had practiced Defense in. And, as Scorpius himself was a Slytherin and friendly with Sullivan, it was easy for him to feed Sawyer's tormentors a fib and lure them there at the right time.

Holly, Sawyer, and I left dinner early, but had evidently beat Scorpius up to the classroom.

"He's not coming with the Slytherins, is he?" Sawyer asked.

I shrugged. "I don't think that was the plan, but who knows. Maybe he changed it last minute."

Sawyer nodded.

"Hey," I said, noticing his shaking hands. "This is revenge, remember. They're not going to ever make fun of you or your dads after this."

"Yeah," Holly agreed. She threw an arm around Sawyer and patted his back. "No need to be nervous. Just be ready to cast a couple hexes. Channel all your anger."

Sawyer gave a weak smile. I took his hand and squeezed it.

It was then that Scorpius burst into the room. His uniform was disheveled, as usual, but I caught his tie before it could slip off and fall to the floor with his dramatic gestures, and looped it around his neck.

"Never fear," he said, throwing his arms out to both sides in a sweeping arc and nearly hitting Holly in the face. "Scorpius is here."

"We weren't fearing," I said. "At least, not because of your absence."

Scorpius beamed as he wrangled with his tie, twisting it until it vaguely resembled a knot. "Charming as always, Dursley."

I eyed the tangled mess of his tie. "Well dressed as always, Malfoy."

Then we noticed who had come in with Scorpius. He had a head of dark hair that stuck up no matter how many times he flattened it, but more importantly, his scarf wasn't green, as I would've expected, but _red._

"Hello all," said Albus, giving us a small, awkward wave. "Sorry to crash the party a little, but Scorpius promised a duel and I wasn't about to turn him down."

Scorpius pulled a face. "Please don't get mad. I thought it would be cool if we had all of the houses represented. I'm Slytherin, you two are Hufflepuffs, Holly's a Ravenclaw. We need Albus to round it out, make us a complete set. We'll be representing the whole school that way, showing how the whole of Hogwarts doesn't tolerate homophobia." He shot me a smile. "I was taking a leaf out of your book, Esther. Trying to create house unity and defeat stereotypes and that."

"The more the merrier," said Sawyer.

"Yes," said Albus. "Let's kick some Slytherin ass. Yours excluded, of course, Malfoy."

Sawyer nodded, looking as though he was a thousand miles away. "Scorpius's excluded."

 

~~~

 

The Slytherins - Octavia, Sullivan, Wilbanks, and two whose names I didn't know and didn't care to learn - walked in maybe half an hour later. By the time they realized that whatever Scorpius had told them was a trap, Albus had slammed the door behind them.

Sawyer stepped behind Holly.

I gave Scorpius my best _do something_ look.

"Hello," said Scorpius, on cue.

Sullivan stepped forward as the leader of their group. "What is this about, Malfoy?"

"I've heard that you've been harassing a friend of a friend."

Sullivan and the others scanned our group. I realized that, without being completely aware of it, Scorpius, Holly, Albus, and I had formed a human wall in front of Sawyer, each of our scarves a unique color.

"Worried about Thomas-Finnegan, are you?" asked Wilbanks. He sneered at us.

Octavia crossed her arms over her chest, looking slightly worried. "It's his fault if he can't take a joke." One of her friends, a girl with long chestnut hair, nodded in agreement.

"You see, it's not a joke if it's one sided," Holly said, a deep set scowl on her face. She had tied back her curls for the occasion, needing all distractions out of the way.

Octavia frowned. "How were we supposed to know he didn't find it funny?"

"Don't try that on us," said Albus. "You most definitely knew."

I scowled at them. "You were purposefully tormenting him. Anyway, your friend Wilbanks seemed to know exactly what we were angry about. I doubt he would if you were truly being so honest."

That shut them up.

"In short," said Scorpius, "the way you treated Esther's friend, my friend, _our_ friend, is unacceptable. It's unacceptable to treat anyone that way, frankly, so we're here to stop you." He crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring Octavia, giving our opponents a venomous look. "I'm ashamed to call you Slytherins."

The whole group pulled their wands out immediately, the thin wooden rods all aimed at somebody else. I had followed suit, and my mind ran through all of the spells Scorpius had drilled with me during our tutoring sessions. _Stupefy, petrificus totalus, locomotor wibbly,_ and so on.

None of them felt right.

Before Holly could whip out her best jinxes or one of the Slytherins could cast a curse, I aimed and said, " _Expelliarmus_."

Octavia's wand flew out of her hand and Scorpius, confusion on his face, stepped forward and snatched it out of the air. I gave him a look that conveyed - as best I could - for him to do as I did. Sullivan, bemused, sent a hex my way but Scorpius had trained me well, for I was able to shield myself effectively. Holly and Sawyer caught on as well, and soon we had requisitioned all of the Slytherins' wands, except Scorpius's of course.

"Nice block," he said, "but what's this about?"

"Sometimes good old fashioned muggle defense is best," I said.

I pocketed my wand, and Wilbanks's, and rolled up my sleeves. The Slytherin students watched me with a mixture of confusion and fear as I raised my clenched fists and stepped toward them. I could feel my anger swirling throughout my body, adrenaline pumping through my veins as my heart beat fast. I thought of the things that these people had said to my best friend, things that had caused him so much anxiety he couldn't discuss it with me for months. I channeled that energy into my expression, my posture, my eyes, my fists. I felt made of anger, made of _loyalty_ to my friend. I think I heard Sullivan whimper.

"Do you know what sound an angry badger makes?" I asked, my voice dripping with malice. The Slytherins quaked in their boots. They didn't respond.

"No? That's because none who have heard it have lived to tell the tale."

"Esther."

I was caught off guard, my flow of anger momentarily paused, but didn't lower my wand or break my lethal stare.

When I didn't put my fists down, Scorpius grabbed me by the back of my robes and pulled me away from the Slytherins.

I tried to push him off but he held my hands behind my back as I struggled. "What the hell?"

"No need for that," he said. "You've already proved your loyalty."

"Yeah," said Sawyer.

I relaxed. Sawyer had given the word; this show was in his benefit, not mine.

To everybody's surprise, Sawyer stepped forward, roaring with rage, and slugged Sullivan right in the face.

There was a moment of silence in which Sullivan doubled over, clutching his nose.

"Go Sawyer!" Holly cheered.

Albus joined in, clapping. "Nice, nice. Aim for the groin on the next one."

Sawyer glared at the other Slytherins, who slowly backed away, and then looked down at his fist. He slowly lowered it, slowly straightened his back and glanced back at us.

"Sawyer?" I asked.

"I'm okay," he said. "That felt incredible, but I don't think I want to do it again."

Scorpius stepped forward, placing one hand on Sawyer's shoulder and addressing the Slytherins. "Did you guys learn your lesson?"

There were some feeble nods and a groan from Sullivan.

"Are we ever going to hear from Sawyer about you harassing him ever again? Or from anyone else, for that matter?"

They shook their heads.

"No teachers are going to know what happened in here tonight, either," Scorpius said. "If they do, we're not only going to know who snitched, but we're going to let the Headmistress know how you treated Sawyer. I'm sure she'll be sympathetic if she knew."

There were several nods.

Sawyer glanced at Scorpius. "Are you through?" he asked.

"Yes."

Sawyer crossed his arms and glared at the Slytherins once again. "Get lost," he spat.

The Slytherins, defeated, exited the room as quickly as possible.

 

~~~

 

There were euphoric cheers and some tears and lots of hugging immediately after the Slytherins' departure. It made me incredibly happy to see Sawyer and Scorpius smiling and enthusing together about Sawyer's punch, about the way Scorpius had scowled menacingly. Holly must have embraced all of us ten times and kissed us all more than that, and even Albus, thought somewhat of the outsider of the group, was excited about what had occurred.

"It's unfortunate you can't see the look on your own face," said Sawyer. "It could probably kill a man."

Scorpius nodded, strutting around the room. "Who needs the Unforgivable Curses when you've got a lethal stare?"

I caught Holly's glance and we rolled our eyes at the pair of them, but were beaming like idiots at the same time.

"Esther, Esther," the boys said, reaching for me. "You saw the way Scorpius glared at them, didn't you?"

I laughed. "The piercing gaze from your green eyes could've cut right through them, Scorpius. And your punch, Sawyer, was evidently enough to intimidate the entire opposition."

"Enough with the fancy words, but thank you," said Scorpius. "Albus, my man, what about you? What did you think of my death glare?"

"Deathly," said Albus.

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

 

~~~

 

Holly and Sawyer were first to leave, rushing off to see if they could snag the tail end of dessert as reward for the evening's endeavors.

Scorpius threw an arm around my shoulders. "All in all a successful mission, wouldn't you say, Dursley? All thanks to me, of course."

"Yes," I said. "All thanks to you."

He beamed and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Thank you so much for helping out," I said to Albus.

"No problem. Couldn't back out of a duel, and the whole idea of representing all of the houses was cool," he said. "I didn't end up doing much. Just stole a wand and cheered when some bigot got punched."

I smiled. "It helped a lot, regardless."

"Oh," said Scorpius, his eyes widening. He drew his wand, and then pulled another from his sleeve. "We never returned their wands."

Albus laughed. "You're a Slytherin. Dump them in a pile in the dormitory or something."

Scorpius grumbled, but accepted the extra wands we handed over to him. "I suppose that'll work."

"Anyway," said Albus, "I sort of wanted to thank you, Esther."

"Me? Why?"

"This is going to sound like I'm his dad or something, but you've done a lot for Hugo's self esteem this year. He won't shut up about your damn Quidditch team. You've done a hell of a job with them."

I grinned. "Why thank you."

"Why does the topic of conversation turn invariably to Quidditch?" Scorpius asked.

"You're only complaining because you were knocked out of the competition when my terrible seeker caught the snitch," I said. Albus nodded his agreement and Scorpius faltered.

"We can still come third," he complained. "Ravenclaw aren't very good this year."

We headed out of the classroom, happily talking Quidditch strategy. The adrenaline I had built up during the confrontation with the Slytherins had mostly dissipated, but I was left with a bubbling happiness. Everything seemed to be falling in to place. Sawyer was no longer avoiding me, and the source of his problems had been eliminated. It seemed that he and Scorpius were even on the path to becoming fast friends. I had befriended Hugo and spoken with both Albus and Rose, without much of a trace of the old rivalries. There was only my Defense final left to tackle.

Besides the Quidditch final, of course. Quidditch, it seemed, was a constant source of both extreme stress and of joy. I loved being captain more than anything.

"What do we have here?"

The chatter of Scorpius and Albus, who had been talking as I walked alongside in happy contemplation, died down as we slowed to a stop. Professor McGonagall stood in front of us, intimidatingly tall.

"Hello, Headmistress," we chorused.

"Malfoy, Dursley, and Potter. Not exactly a combination I would have expected."

I couldn't suppress my internal happiness, but I managed to suppress my outward grin.

"Are you three aware of the time?"

"Oh," I heard Albus say, to my left.

"Oh is right, Mr. Potter. You three were expected to enter your dormitories for the night over half an hour ago. After Ms. Boot and Mr. Thomas-Finnegan entered the Great Hall looking both sheepish and excited while a certain group of Slytherins looked completely terrified" - The Headmistress paused here and smiled - "I'm sure there were some elusive activities being carried out. I'm afraid the three of you are going to have to receive a detention."

I didn't protest. Another point had made itself superior in my mind. "Professor, were you aware of what was happening with Sawyer?"

"I had my suspicions, but unfortunately no evidence to incriminate the Slytherin students."

Scorpius caught on. "And you knew what was going on tonight?"

"More or less."

"How come you let it happen?"

McGonagall began walking down the hallway again. "I knew you wouldn't let anything get out of hand, Ms. Dursley. Report to my office after your classes tomorrow, please."

Albus snorted once she was out of view. "She got that wrong. It was you that almost let everything get out of control, Esther."

"Yeah," I said. "I wanted to punch somebody."

We burst into fits of laughter in the middle of the hallway.

"Detention tomorrow is going to suck," I said eventually, having managed to compose myself yet again. "I'm going to have to give Mona or someone the plans for Quidditch practice."

"Oh, that does suck," said Scorpius, "but I think we can agree that detention for tonight is worth it."

Albus and I grinned.

"Of course," I said. "Most definitely worth it."


	21. Magic the Gathering

It felt good to have Sawyer sit beside me at breakfast again.

We got a couple confused looks from Hufflepuffs who were clearly wondering what had occurred to repair our friendship, but after a few minutes either the novelty of the situation had worn off or the other students decided that it was just nice that Sawyer and I were friends again. I was certainly thinking the latter.

Sawyer was eating his toast methodically, the way he always did it; He ate the crusts first, going around the edge of the toast, and then ate the middle. I ate my toast much more haphazardly.

"Thanks for last night, Esther," he said.

I shrugged. "It was no big deal."

"Yes it was. It was really cool of you guys to band together like that for me."

"Well, we're your friends. Of course we would do something like that for you. Especially after how those jerks treated you. And it's probably Scorpius that you should be thanking the most. He organized the whole thing."

Sawyer took a swig of his juice. "Scorpius wasn't my friend, though. I mean, I think we're friends now, but he wasn't until last night."

I peered over the head of Midha, who was sat across from us, to the Slytherin table. Scorpius was sat at the end of the table, as he usually did, a book propped up in front of his plate. I assumed it was some last minute studying going on.

"I think he probably felt bad for coming between us."

"It wasn't his fault."

"Yeah," I said, "but for a long time we didn't know that. We thought you were angry at me for becoming friends with him because you didn't like him specifically. That would've been mostly my fault, but I think he still felt bad for whatever part he played in it."

"Fair enough," said Sawyer. "That was mostly true. I figured he was like his friends, though that was unfair of me. He's a cool guy, Esther."

"I'm not dating him."

Sawyer took a long swig from his juice, his eyebrows raised suggestively. "I never suggested that you were." He set his cup down. "Anyway, no matter what Scorpius's motives were, I'm really grateful that he made last night happen."

"You better be," I said. "Scorpius, Albus, and I got detention after you and Holly left."'

"Really?"

"Yup. McGonagall herself caught us out of bed after hours. We need to report to her later today. Don't feel guilty about it or anything; The three of us agreed that it was well worth it to see you punch Sullivan."

At that moment, Holly stuck her head of curls between us. "Make some room, will you? And what was worth seeing Sawyer punch Sullivan? I'm sure _anything_ would be worth the viewing pleasure of that awesome showdown, but do tell, Essie."

"She, Albus, and Scorpius got detention from McGonagall," Sawyer said, saving me from answering with a mouthful of eggs.

"Sucks to be you," said Holly. "Isn't it Quidditch night?"

Sawyer's face fell. "I hadn't realized that."

I waved away his concern. "Don't worry about it. I'm going to give Mona the training plan, and we can sneak in another couple practices before the big game. It's only us and Gryffindor that are still using the pitch, after all."

Holly frowned. "Yeah. Now that Ravenclaw came dead last."

"You need to divert all that intense energy for learning into Quidditch," I said, "and away from whatever else you guys are interested in."

"Good luck with that. A group of seventh year girls are all currently obsessed with researching hair growth potions and I don't even want to know what this one first year is doing trying to get daily signed slips into the Restricted Section. There's also been a big influx in Muggle games after some third year brought some back after Christmas holidays," said Holly.

"What's it called? I might know it."

"Magic the Gathering. Some card game with monsters and what Muggles think magic is like. There are daily tournaments in the Common Room and everyone's trying to strategize the game to win. It's terrible."

Sawyer laughed. "I'm guessing you're not very good at it."

Holly snorted. "What makes you think that?" She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a deck of illustrated cards. She slammed them on the table and stared Sawyer straight in the eyes. "I'm reigning champion."

I laughed and Sawyer nodded appreciatively.

"Which is why I'm freaking out a little," Holly continued.

"What? Is someone else almost good enough to beat you?"

Holly rolled her eyes. "No, not that. I spend so much time and energy focusing on the wrong things. I'm not doing well in my classes, but rather than studying, I'm devoting time to calculating how many stupid mana cards is most beneficial to have in my deck. The thing is, though...I'm more interested in stuff like Magic the Gathering and wizard chess and researching animagi than I am doing assigned schoolwork."

Holly frowned. "Sorry to make this a dismal conversation."

"Don't be sorry," I said. "You have a reasonable concern, but I don't think it matters. Don't feel _bad_ about what you enjoy doing. Try not to let it interfere with your schoolwork so much, maybe."

"You can do both," said Sawyer. "Dominate at that card game and pass your classes. The rest of us non Ravenclaws do it."

"You weren't cursed with immeasurable wit and nerdiness," said Holly.

I thought for a moment. "Can't you use one to help the other?" I picked up her deck of cards, ignoring Holly's horrified intake of breath, and flipped through them. "See, you've got a dragon card. Why not associate the card's powers with a real life dragon to help you remember it for class? Or draw parallels between the curses and curses you have to learn for Defense?"

Holly snatched back her cards and rifled through them. "I guess that might work," she said. "I'd have to draw up whole charts of how each card is related to something I need to do for class, which is going to need to some intense organization if it's going to work properly. Some mnemonic devices might help me keep track of them." She rose from her spot squeezed between us on the bench and gave us a distracted wave. "I better go find some parchment and a quill. See you."

"Bye," Sawyer and I chorused.

He gave me a high five. "Nice job."

"Think it will work?"

"Are you kidding? As long as she doesn't write down the names of her cards down in her essays, she's going to do great."

~~~

The impromptu pre-Quidditch practice meeting occurred in the Common Room. The whole team stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, trying not to block anybody from the entrances or exits. They were all wearing their robes; I was not.

"I can't believe you got _detention,_ " said Hugo. "That's not like you, Esther."

Mona scowled. "And of all the days, you had to get it on Quidditch practice night. You do realize that one, you're our captain, and that two, we've got a huge match coming up? The _finals_?"

"Sorry, but it is what it is," I said. "I had to help a friend in need. Won't happen again."

"Is that why you and Sawyer are friends again?"

I smiled. "Yes."

"Who are you making your replacement captain?" Geronimo asked.

"Mona."

There were a couple goodnatured groans from the group.

"I trust that she'll keep you under control."

Everyone, even Mona, laughed at that.

"Before we go our separate ways, though," I said, "I think we should talk strategy."

The group nodded gravely.

We were silent for a few moments.

"Does anybody have any suggestions?" I asked. "I'm leaving this open for your ideas. Our match is next weekend, and we haven't got a solid plan yet."

"Plans about catching the snitch, I suppose," said Cassie.

I gave her a sympathetic look. "Yes."

"Well, we've got to beat _Gryffindor_ ," said Mona. "No offense, Cassie, but -"

"It's okay, Mona. I won't be able to catch the snitch," said Cassie, bluntly.

I frowned. "Don't say that. You've been improving so much."

Cassie shrugged. "I know, but like Mona was saying, this match is against Gryffindor, and there's a lot of pressure. Frankly, I'm going to be so paranoid about messing up our final match that I'm going to mess it up."

"Ironic," said Oliver.

"Yes," she said.

"I don't think we should work under the assumption that you're going to be incapacitated from anxiety," I said. "That's not putting much trust in you and your abilities."

"I think the exact opposite," said Cassie. "Let's make plans assuming that I can't catch the snitch. If I end up doing it, well, kudos to me."

Mona patted Cassie's shoulder. "I'm in."

"Of course you are," said Oliver, good-naturedly. "You're all for thinking the worst of people."

"You're in, too, though."

"Yeah," he said. "I'm in, too."

They turned to me.

"I guess I can't argue if Cassie's advocating for it," I said. "But do we even have any backup plans? We can't obsessively foul like we did before. We'll be disqualified, and I think if we win, I would want to have done it honestly."

Hugo shrugged. "Seems like we've got to do some research."

We said our goodbyes in the hallway, them heading down to the pitch and me heading to meet with Albus and Scorpius to serve our detention. I watched my team go, though, with some kind of maternal protective feeling in my chest. Our big day was coming up. Cassie and Hugo walked behind the rest of the group, talking enthusiastically. I noticed that Mona and Oliver were holding hands and smiled a little. That was a new development, but one I had been expecting. They turned the corner and disappeared, so I turned by back and quickened my pace to McGonagall's office.

~~~

McGonagall got the three of us working in an assembly line on the letters to students who would be joining next year as first years. Albus laid out the parchment and enchanted the quills to write out the same message. I was in charge of filling in the specific names of the students and making sure a letter for each person was made. Scorpius took our finished letter and rolled it up with the list of school supplies, or folded them and put them in an envelope if the student was a muggleborn. It was boring and tedious, but at least the three of us were together. McGonagall was busy at work in her office in the next room and didn't seem to mind when we started whispering to one another.

"Remember getting your letters when you were eleven?" Albus asked. "Even though I'd already seen Teddy and James's, it was pretty exciting. Though to be honest, I was also terrified."

"I wasn't terrified at all," said Scorpius. "I was excited at the prospect of leaving home for months at a time. I couldn't wait."

They turned to me.

I thought back to eleven year old Esther, a girl who couldn't even imagine the world that she would become a part of. She felt very distant now, not only because of the nearly six years of time that separated us, but because her world was drastically different than mine.

"My owl came on my birthday," I told the boys. "Dad and I were sat inside, in the kitchen, and it flew through the open door. We were both shocked, naturally, but Dad was more concerned than anything, because he has a bit of a vendetta against magic from growing up."

Albus nodded knowingly.

"He hasn't come completely to terms with the fact that I'm a witch even all these years later. I'm not going to be his successful daughter that he can brag to all his friends about. I'm going to be in the wizarding world, and whatever successes I have are going to have to remain secretive."

"That's terrible," said Scorpius. "He should learn to accept you for what you are."

"Yeah," I said, sighing. "He enjoys my tales of Quidditch sometimes, though. A love of sports is something we have in common, even if I enjoy ones with flying broomsticks much more than ones with nets and cleats."

Scorpius gave me a blank look, but Albus must have had a working knowledge of the muggle world from his dad, because he nodded.

"You'll have a lot to talk about with him when you go back home for summer holidays," said Albus. "Considering how well you've done captaining the team this year."

"Thanks," I said. "We still have to beat you guys, though."

Albus paused in laying out a fresh round of parchment to raise his eyebrows at me. "We'll see about that."

"Ooh," said Scorpius. He looked eagerly at me, awaiting my response.

"I wouldn't be so confident," I said. "We have risen at least to second place, from fourth place last year. Rising to first won't be much more of a struggle."

Scorpius widened his eyes, almost comically. "Dursley's rebuttal was nice. Will Potter dodge the metaphorical bludger she sent his way, or return one of his own?

I chucked a sheet of parchment his way. "Get to work."

"Yet another magnificent save from Esther Dursley," said Scorpius. "Diffusing conflict since...whatever year it was she was born in."

Albus whacked him with his stack of parchment.

Scorpius raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm working now."

So, all in all, it was an altogether pleasant detention. I think McGonagall was going easy on us, considering that we had been helping a friend in need, and I appreciated that. I also got to see the list of new students, which I was pleased about for my own reasons. I scanned down the list, my eyes lingering on the muggleborn witches and wizards. Vincent Quartermaine, Tabitha Plough. I wondered what houses they would be sorted into, which ones would be the Hufflepuffs, whether they would try their hardest to overcome their blood status to perform just as well, or even better, than those who had lived in the wizarding world for their entire lives. I hoped at least a few of them would pick up a broomstick and try their hardest.

~~~

I got back to the Common Room quite late. It was practically empty, but I noticed Hugo sitting in a chair in the corner. He waved me over.

"What are you doing up?" I asked.

"Waiting for you."

"You're the chosen team messenger then? How did practice go?"

Hugo shrugged. "Same as always, really. Mona's bossy, but Oliver managed to keep her from getting too belligerent. He's really good for her, you know. Anyway, the rest of the team was waiting up for you, too, doing research. When you hadn't shown after so long, I volunteered to stay so they could all get their beauty sleep."

"You guys started research already? Anything turn up?"

"We think so," Hugo said.

"Already? That's great! Do tell."

He frowned. "I don't know if you're going to like it. Most of the team is for it, I think, and Cassie said she's in for anything."

"Well, try me. We'll see what I think."

Hugo beckoned me closer and I sat down, leaning towards him. He looked around surreptitiously and then whispered, "Do you know what a snitchnip is, Esther?"


	22. Snitchnip

I picked at my lunch, eating maybe half a piece of chicken that Sawyer had put on my plate. The entire Hufflepuff table - no, the entire school - was raucous and loud today. My team was not sat together, but was scattered among their various friends. I was glad for that; They were just as nervous as I was, and having people talking around me rather than six nervous Quidditch players, made me feel slightly better.

"You barely ate any breakfast this morning," Sawyer said.

"I know."

"You're going to need to eat _something_. You can't block quaffles with an empty stomach."

Instead, I drained a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Not good enough," said Sawyer.

"It's got calories, at least. Trust me, eating something would be worse than not."

Sawyer frowned, but didn't argue as I rose from the table. The school was beginning to file out, funneling out the door and streaming down the hill to the Quidditch pitch. Sawyer and I bounced by the Ravenclaw table, picking up Holly, who was wearing all yellow and carrying a large sign under one arm. She threw her other arm around me and kissed my cheek.

"I'm so excited!" she said.

I managed a smile. "I'm incredibly nervous."

Sawyer squeezed my shoulder, the one that was clad in yellow for the last time this year.

"You're going to do great, Essie," he said. "Sorry. I suppose I should be addressing you as Captain Esther Dursley."

"Essie is fine," I tell him. I took a deep breath in, counting for four seconds before I exhale. I did this a few times. It's was a trick Holly had taught me, the night before. It was supposed to level my breathing and calm me down.

"That's not four seconds," said Holly. "You're doing it too quickly."

Evidently, it wasn't working.

Holly's wild curls were tied back with a Hufflepuff tie I had let her borrow, but one sprung free on her forehead, blowing into her eyes. She brushed it away before taking my hand and counting for me. "One...two...three...four. Now exhale. Better?"

"Nope," I said. "I think I'm going to feel like puking for at least another week."

Sawyer looked at me sympathetically. "Don't say that. It's going to go fine."

I shrugged. "Even if everything goes perfectly and we win, I'm going to feel like puking for the next week. This is terrifying. This is everything I've been working towards all year."

Holly tugged the end of my ponytail playfully. "That's why you have to get out there and give it your all, Esther. Try and forget about the nerves. You've come this far. You can play one last match."

I counted for another four seconds before exhaling. "Okay," I said.

We were out the door, following the crowd down the hill. Everyone was chattering loudly. Nobody in Slytherin or Ravenclaw was wearing their own colors; It looked as though their houses had been eliminated completely, in favor of only Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

"Esther!"

I turned on my heel and walked backwards a few steps. Scorpius barreled into me, yellow hat on his white blond hair. Holly and Sawyer sped up a little, giving us our space.

"I'm rooting for you," Scorpius said, ruffling my hair. "I think."

"Wow," I said. "You're inspiring confidence."

Scorpius pouted. "Don't be like that. Albus is on the other side. Otherwise there would be no competition. But especially after our little revenge plot, you two are my best friends."

I frowned at that.

"Don't feel guilty or anything," he said. He stared at his feet, reddening slightly. "It's not like I could've ever felt safe around them, knowing what bigots they were. Sullivan especially. To think I trusted him at one point."

"I'm still sorry," I said. "I hadn't thought of that. You threw yourself so willingly into helping Sawyer that it didn't seem like they had ever been your friends."

Scorpius shrugged. "I guess I had my own selfish reasons for getting rid of them."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not now," he said quickly. He ran a hand through his tangled hair. "I better catch up with Holly and Sawyer if I want to get a seat next to them. It's going to be a rush for the front row. You should probably go talk to your team."

I nodded. "I need to give them a pep talk or something. My duty as captain. Yet I'm the one feeling like puking."

"I doubt talking about puking is helping," Scorpius said, scrunching up his nose. "Now go talk to your team, Miss Captain. Defend those goal posts."

"I'll do my best."

He left me, joining up with another group of students heading to the stands to watch the final Quidditch match of the year. I spent another minute breathing in and out the way Holly had instructed, counting slowly to four, and then ducked into the locker room.

I looked around the locker room. The nervous energy was palpable. Hugo was staring at the wall in a daze, Geronimo was obsessively polishing his broom handle, and Mona had her eyes squeezed shut, her hand clutching Oliver's.

Other than Geronimo and Mona, I hadn't been very familiar with any of the other students who sat before me prior to this year. But I had become close to each of them, from the anxious Cassie, the quiet Heather, to the kind Hugo. I recalled my anxiety at the beginning of the year at having been mad captain and smiled. Sure, it hadn't been an easy road, but I had a close knit team now, one that I could easily call a collection of some of my favorite people.

"Look who decided to show up," said Oliver. "Bit late, Captain."

"Sorry," I said. "I needed a few pep talks before I could give a pep talk."

There was some nervous laughter from around the room. They all turned to face me, giving me their full attention for this last pre-game speech.

"So," I said to the group. "We made it."

Hugo laughed, a mix of exhilaration and disbelief. "We did."

I nodded. "As you know, nobody was thinking much of us at the beginning of this year. Not only does our house have a reputation for being, frankly, pathetic, but _I_ was made our captain. A muggleborn doesn't seem like the best bet for Quidditch, but there you have it. We had our trials, of course, but each and every one of you has improved in your skills and we have grown closer as a team through this journey. And all our hardwork, our Hufflepuff diligence, has brought us here. To the finals."

"We showed them," Mona said, gritting her teeth.

"We did," I said. "We showed the school that they shouldn't underestimate Hufflepuffs by making it this far. Whatever happens out there on the field, I want to know that I'm infinitely proud of you, and so grateful to be able to call you guys my team."

"And we're grateful to call you our captain," said Geronimo.

"You kick ass," said Heather. "For a Hufflepuff."

A whistle blew, cutting off our laughter.

"That's our cue," I said.

The team stood up, grabbed their brooms, and filed out. I lingered behind, waiting for them all to leave, but so did Mona.

"What's up?" I asked her.

She stared at her feet. "I know I'm tough on you and the team sometimes," she said. "Oliver and some of the others have made me aware of that. I just wanted to let you know that it's because I care, and want us to succeed. I'm proud of how far we've come, too, and think you're a great captain."

I couldn't help but smile at the woodenness of her speech, but it meant a lot to me all the same. "Thanks, Mona."

She shrugged, and then, to my surprise, hugged me. When we pulled apart, she put her broomstick over her shoulder and clapped me on the back. "Let's go show Gryffindor what we Hufflepuffs are made of."

~~~

Seven kids in canary yellow robes lined up on the pitch, broomsticks in hand.

I was in the middle of the group, knuckles white around my broom. Oliver, standing next to me and looking somehow relaxed, rubbed the top of my helmet.

"Thanks for making this a great seventh year," he said. "I'll miss the team next year."

"We'll miss you," I said. I looked down the line of Hufflepuff players and saw them all turn to look back at me.

"Everyone know the plan?" I asked.

"We better," Mona muttered, bouncing on her heels. "We've gone over it sixty thousand times."

"We know it," Cassie confirmed, determination shown on her face.

I was called forward to shake hands with Albus Potter. He grinned, his grip firm. "Good luck, Dursley."

"And you, Potter."

The whistle blew and fourteen students soared into the air to the cheers of the entire school.

Rehmat's voice booms out across the pitch. "The keepers, the captains of their respective teams, take their positions as the quaffle is quickly taken into Hufflepuff possession. It's Mona Dice opening this year's cup final, Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor. Dice passes and - oh! - nice interception there. It's heading the other way, towards Captain Esther Dursley of Hufflepuff. Nice dodge of the bludger there by Clock, sent by seventh year Geronimo Fletcher. His strong arm will certainly be missed next year by the - whoa! a shot by Henderson!"

I brought both hands up to perform one of the tricks I had been practicing during practice; I stayed carefully balanced on my broom as it soared forward, slamming my hands down hard on the quaffle. Cheers arose from the Hufflepuff section of the crowd as the quaffle was sent spiraling down towards the turf below. Hugo pulled out of a steep nosedive, the ball cradled in his arms.

"Weasley!" Mona yelled, warning him.

Hugo went limp to one side, slipping around on his broom so he was hanging on upside-down, the bludger passing straight over him. He dropped the quaffle and righted himself, speeding away before the bludger could turn and head back for him. As Mona swooped down and snatched the quaffle, Heather moved in to position to turn the bludger on a Gryffindor instead.

I beamed. Practice makes perfect.

Even Rehmat, a loyal Gryffindor, was impressed. "What a nice maneuver by Weasley! I thought it would hit him for sure."

I heard cheering from somewhere to my left. "Go Esther!"

I turned my head to see my roommates, Midha and Claudette and the rest, standing alongside Sawyer, Holly, and Scorpius, all applauding. When they saw me looking, Holly raised her sign, a huge, colorful thing that read - "Durlsey's a keeper!"

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling.

Rehmat pulled me back in to the game. "...Dice, Weasley, Dice again, ah...Unfortunately for Hufflepuff, Dunlop was edged out by Clock of Gryffindor. Go get 'em, lions! Sorry, bit biased there. Anyway, so far that's one shot for Gryffindor, none for Hufflepuff. Seekers for both teams - Klein for Hufflepuff and Hart for Gryffindor - are circling high above the pitch, with no sightings of the snitch seen thus far in the match. Wow, that Dice is fast. She intercepts and is heading back towards Potter's goal posts. It's a shot and -"

Albus's hand reached up and hit the quaffle, but only enough to give it a topspin and a nudge into the hoop.

"-that's ten points to Hufflepuff!"

~~~

The game continued on. Each of my chasers scored, which I was happy about, but I also let in a few goals, which I was not so pleased about. My whole team was playing well, actually. Heather and Geronimo were handy with their bats and in the several scares with the snitch, Cassie had held her own.

We were five points down, though, and I could see that Cassie was gearing up to signal in our new plan. Sure enough, when she pulled out of a nosedive from a fake out the Gryffindor seeker had pulled, she raised both hands above her head as though she was stretching.

I locked eyes with Mona, who nodded to show she had received the message. She swooped by Hugo, tapping him and giving him a meaningful look. In a few moments, the entire team was aware that the plan was to be implemented. Now it was up to me to give my signal, to confirm that we would be carrying out this plan.

I wasn't happy about it. I didn't want Cassie to give up and decide that she couldn't catch the snitch halfway through the game. But I could tell from the way she was flying - stiffly, all angles and no curves - that her nerves were shot. She wasn't going to be able to keep up with the Gryffindor boy when it came down to it.

The plan could get us disqualified, I knew. We were hanging on to a technicality.

The team's research had pulled up the idea of a snitchnip, arguably the worst of all Quidditch fouls. A snitchnip, when executed, meant that any player other than the designated seeker of the team had touched or caught the snitch.

We presumed "touching" and "catching" referred to the snitch touching skin, more commonly the hands (Though there was the incident I had read about in a biography about Harry Potter, detailing how he had almost _swallowed_ the snitch).

So our idea was to pull of a snitchnip that wasn't technically a snitchnip. One of our players - we designated Mona because of her unmatched speed and agility on the broom - would have to join the chase for the snitch and, without actually touching it with any part of her skin, ensnare it in her robes. Then she would fly to Cassie, who could take it in her hand and win the game for us.

There were a lot of factors we couldn't combat, though. Gryffindor's seeker could catch the snitch before Mona could get there, it would be hard to pull off, and even if it was executed perfectly, without any part of Mona coming in to contact with the snitch, it could be considered a snitchnip and be declared void. McGonagall had also banned us from using fouls as a tactic after we used them excessively.

None of those were my main concern, however.

I'm not one to vouch for stereotypes, but there is something to be said for them, no matter how small. When I was eleven and first walked in to the stone castle that loomed behind me, full of wonder and nerves at becoming a witch, the sorting hat had done little deliberation before placing me in Hufflepuff. Because I'm loyal, I'm diligent, I'm hardworking, I'm _fair_.

Winning on a snitchnip technicality just wasn't fair. Gryffindor had worked just as hard as we had to get to the finals. Maybe they hadn't had to deal with a nervous seeker or the reputation of coming fourth every year, but they had played each game as we had and they had won fair and square. They were a team of kids, like us, twelve through eighteen. They wanted to win, to be cheered on by their classmates and peers, to be able to go home and recount every last detail of their contribution to their parents, just as I did, as my team did.

Cassie and the Gryffindor seeker both accelerated rapidly, zooming towards a fast, golden ball that the rest of us could barley see. Across the pitch, quaffle under her arm, Mona looked to me, a panicked look on her face as the crowd held its breath in anticipation. She raised her eyebrows in my direction, silently asking for her cue.

I shook my head no.

~~~

The crowd went silent as five digits closed around the golden ball. It was one massive intake of breath.

Rehmat struggled to find the words as the volume surged again, hundreds of people screaming and applauding. "The game is over! The snitch has been caught!"

I swooped down close to the ground and threw myself lightly off the broomstick, tumbling to the ground. I lay on the grass, looking up at my goal posts above me, my broomstick rising and falling with each of my breaths. I brushed some hair out of my eyes, completely exhausted.

A face with ginger hair blocked my vision, closely followed by a smaller one with long hair falling out of its ponytail. The crowd was roaring - the entire school, in fact, was applauding - and I saw a person in a red robe soaring victoriously high above.

"Sorry, Esther," said Cassie, her voice breaking, tears threatening to fall. "I let us down."

"You absolutely did not," I said. "You were brilliant, Cassie. We were all brilliant. We just weren't as good as the Gryffindors this year."

Hugo offered me a hand and I took it, letting him hoist me to my feet. He patted my back. "Second place isn't bad."

"You're right. It feels a bit disappointing right this moment, but it isn't bad."

Mona came over, not stomping as I would've expected, but at a slow pace. Oliver came up behind her, placed a hand on her shoulder as though to calm her. The rest of my team gathered in until we were stood in a circle, arms loosely draped around each other, hands holding hands.

"I couldn't go through with the plan," I said. "I'm sorry, but it just wouldn't have been fair."

There were some nods from the group. Geronimo sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. Mona reached over and rubbed his back.

"I understand," she said.

Hugo was biting his lip, his head continuously nodding.

"I know it's disappointing to lose, but there were too many risks involved and it just didn't feel right. We're Hufflepuffs, guys, and sometimes - by no means all of the time - we have to act like it.

"We have a good seeker, a great seeker, and I wanted her to try her best. If we were to win today, it would only have felt right to me if we won fair and square, without any technicalities or fouls or anything else."

Heather nodded. "It's the Hufflepuff thing to have done. I don't blame you, Esther."

I realized I was crying. I knew the team didn't blame me, I knew that I was only blaming myself. It really did feel awful to lose.

"I'm sorry we couldn't win during your final year with us, Oliver," I said.

"It doesn't matter. You guys can win next year. Nobody will be underestimating you then, Dursley."

I felt my back being tapped and I turned around, wiping my eyes, to face Albus Potter.

"Nice match," he said, offering me his hand.

I shook it. "You, too. Congratulations."

"Better luck next year, eh?" Albus said, rubbing his neck. He grinned. "We'll see you back at the finals, right?"

"Yes," I said, turning back to look at my team, sweaty and disgruntled, broomsticks held loosely in hand.  "You most definitely will."


	23. Would You Rather

Scorpius, Holly, and Sawyer were waiting for me outside the locker room when I emerged, straggling after the rest of my downtrodden team. Holly took possession of my beloved broomstick as I hugged each of them.

"You played fantastically," said Scorpius. "What a game."

"You don't need to be effusive with your praise because we lost."

"I'm not. I'm being honest, Esther. Take a compliment."

I gave him a tiny smile. "Thanks for the effort, but your compliments are not really appreciated right now. I'm going to be bitter for a few days. Just bear with me, please."

"Understandable," said Scorpius, putting his hands up in surrender. "I was only impressed by those saves, especially the one when you -"

Holly clamped a hand over his mouth. "What happened out there, Essie?" She paused. "Wow. I didn't mean that judgmentally, but it certainly came across that way. Only I thought you guys had a trick up your sleeve, but I didn't see anything. If that was the object, then good job, though obviously you didn't pull it off because you -"

Scorpius clamped a hand over her mouth. The two of them stared daggers at each other, each stifling the other. Sawyer forced himself between them, breaking their hands apart.

"We did have a trick," I said, "but I decided against using it."

"What?" Scorpius said, dodging Holly's hand this time. "Why?"

"It wouldn't have been fair."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Where's the Essie I know?" he asked. "You don't go for stereotypes."

"It's not a stereotype," I said. "It's a truth. I'm a Hufflepuff and ultimately, I feel the need to be fair and just. I'm diligent. I'm hardworking. Those are fine. The stereotypes that I'm against are the ones that say that Hufflepuffs can't be leaders, or successful, or win the Quidditch cup. Yes, I'm aware that we didn't win. But we made it to the finals, and if we did win, I wanted it to be fair. There are parts of me that are Slytherin, that are Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, but I wanted to win as a Hufflepuff."

Scorpius threw his arm around my shoulder and shook his head incredulously. "Spoken like a true Hufflepuff, too. Not sure why I expected anything different of you, Dursley."

I put my arm around him and shrugged. "Let's go back to the castle," I said. "I'm starving."

~~~

It was rough, seeing the victorious Gryffindors in the hallways, knowing that we had lost to them. I felt awkward around my teammates, though they all told me individually that they respected the decision I had made for the team. As Hugo assured me, the best thing to do wasn't often the easiest. Unfortunately my heart and my brain weren't cooperating; my brain knew why it had made the decision it did but my heart still pumped faster every time I saw a flash of a scarlet scarf.

Not only did I get the awkward, morose feeling of having lost after so much hard work, but it was also odd to not have to organize weekly Quidditch practices. The team had no reason to meet up all together and, since we all had our own friend groups, we didn't congregate all together. I saw them all in the dining hall or in the dorms or in class, of course, but it wasn't the same.

I made a point of speaking to all of them, though, whether it was about Quidditch or just school in general. We may not have been training any longer, but a captain still needs to look after her team.

One of the most rewarding things to come out of being the captain of the team was seeing how my players grew and developed. I had watched Oliver and Mona grow closer together as friends and then romantically; even if now they were often a bit _too_ close - they were reprimanded for making out in the middle of the hallway - it made me happy to know that their relationship was in part due to our extensive Quidditch training. Cassie, of course, I had seen grow tremendously in her actual playing ability, but also personality wise. She had become gregarious - well, _more_ gregarious at the very least - as her flying improved. I had watched her form an unbreakable friendship with Hugo during our private practices before the ones with the full team, had seen them go grow acquaintances into an inseparable duo.

In an awkward free hour between lunch and my next class, I hung out with the pair of them outside. It was one of the first days of truly nice weather we had gotten in a while; there had been copious amounts of rain, but that day we sat in the courtyard with the sun warming our backs and the school books we had lying out besides us for show.

"Uh," said Cassie, staring up at the clouds as she thought. "Would you rather... have to take Divination or not pass the O.W.L. you study the hardest for?"

Hugo grimaced. "Wow. Tough much? I think I'd go for taking Divination, despite all the things I've heard about that class. Who knows, it might actually be pretty cool. Esther?"

"I failed my Divination O.W.L. Does that count?"

They laughed.

"I'll go," I said. "Would you rather only be able to eat muggle sweets or never be able to drink butterbeer again?"

Hugo shook his head. "I need a minute for this one."

"I've never had any muggle sweets," said Cassie, "so maybe they're actually pretty good?"

"Yeah," I said. "Cadbury's is nice. I like their cream eggs the best."

Hugo nodded. "I'm with you there, but giving up chocolate frogs? Fizzing Whizbees? I'm not sure. I am quite fond of butterbeer, too...." He clutched his head and moaned in anguish as he tried to come to a decision, making me laugh.

"Hey, Esther?"

I turned to face Cassie, taken slightly aback by the sudden change in tone. "Yes?"

"If I'm on the team next year -"

"When," I said definitively. " _When_ you're on the team next year."

Cassie gave me a small smile. "Are you sure? There might be some brilliant second year or some undiscovered seeker from one of the other grades."

"So? You're part of the team, Cassie."

"Well. _When_ I'm on the team next year, I'm going to give it my all. I'm going to catch the snitch more than once, at least. I'm asking for a new broom for my birthday, which might help with the speed, and I'm going to practice all summer, I promise. When you see me again in September, I'll be a whole new player."

Hugo grinned. "We'll look at you and ask where the old Cassie went."

"She'll still be here," she said. "Just buried by time, that's all."

"What are you doing this summer, Esther?" Hugo asked.

I shrugged. "My parents will probably bring me to the seaside. I'll catch up with some of my Muggle friends, I guess. Nothing very exciting." I felt slightly nauseous just thinking about how close it was to summer break; in only a few weeks I would have to lock up all evidence of my life as a witch and pretend to be _normal_ , whatever that meant.

"Can't you at least practice for the Quidditch season?" Cassie asked.

"Definitely not," I said. "There's nowhere for me to practice. Imagine if all the Muggles saw that strange Esther Dursley girl flying around on a broomstick like something out of a children's picture book! My broomstick stays in the closet until September."

Hugo frowned. "It's incredible when you think about it."

"What is?"

"How good you are at Quidditch when you don't get to practice all summer."

I blushed. "I play football at the park with some of the neighborhood boys when they let me. Goalkeeping for them isn't _too_ far removed from playing keeper at Quidditch."

Hugo let his arms give way under his weight and laid back in the grass. "This one's just for you, Esther. Would you rather spend your summer with your parents or in the wizarding world?"

I fell silent and let myself fall back into the grass as well. The clouds above drifted lazily across the sky and the grass tickled my bare skin as a gentle breeze sent the blades dancing haphazardly.

"That's a difficult question," I said finally.

"It's not supposed to be an easy game," Hugo said.

Cassie gave me a sympathetic look. "Hugo, that wasn't a very nice thing to ask."

"It's okay," I said. "Look, on one hand, I love my parents and don't get to see them throughout the year except at Christmas. But then again, I never get to practice Quidditch or do _anything_ related to magic during the summer. I get some news through the witch who lives in my neighborhood and I get a couple letters, but that's it. I'm effectively a normal Muggle until school starts again. I hate being split so distinctly between these two sides of me."

Hugo nodded. "Maybe," he said, "there's a way to have both."

I frowned. "How? Unless you can convince my parents -"

"You might not ever be able to have both at once," he said, "but you can certainly do both."

I turned to look at him, squinting suspiciously. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing."

Cassie shook her head. "He's definitely up to something, Esther. I can tell."

Hugo sat up and shrugged, looking proud of himself. "I've got an idea, that's all."

~~~

Holly was occupying an entire table to herself at the library, despite it being almost full with fifth and seventh year students trying to be productive before their respective exams. She had bunches of crumpled parchment that she was attempting to flatten out on to the table and dispersed among them were her Magic the Gathering cards, all placed in specific locations that only Holly understood. When I came to join her and accidentally nudged one of the cards out of place, she let out a tiny shriek before darting over and rotating it back to its exact position.

"What is this?" I asked, trying to make sense of the arrangement.

"This," said Holly, turning to face me with her hands on her hips and her hair in her face, "is how I'm going to pass all of my exams."

A few fourth year girls wafted by, looking at us hopefully, willing us to give them a seat at the table with their eyes. Holly told them to leave with an icy glare from hers.

"I don't see how this can help you, Holls."

"Really? I'm disappointed in you. This was your idea, after all."

I frowned for a moment, until I remembered. "You're using your cards to help you study." I leaned in closer and glanced at the closest piece of parchment. Holly's handwriting was small and cramped, almost illegible. I could barely make out what it was saying. "Are these your charts of the correspondences?"

"Yeah," said Holly. "Each card has a specific association to something I need to know for one of my tests. I gave each class a type of land, so I don't get confused between them and -"

I automatically tuned her out as she launched into an in-depth explanation of each of her cards and how she was using them to both study and take down those threatening her position of reigning champion. For me, just trying to memorize the material seemed to work best. If using overly complicated charts and diagrams written in smudging ink on hundreds of sheets of parchment worked for Holly, then that was what she would do.

Holly laid down the last of her cards and then took a step back, nodding admiringly at her handiwork. She turned expectantly to me and I nodded back at her.

"Nice work," I said.

She looked incredibly pleased with herself. "I know," she said. "Now, weren't there supposed to be more of us meeting up to study?"

"Don't want to be alone with me?" I asked. "I see how it is."

Holly rolled her eyes.

I gestured to the entrance of the library, where Scorpius and Sawyer were just coming through. Scorpius was struggling under the weight of what seemed to be every single one of his textbooks, his bag slung over one shoulder gaping open with random papers sticking out the top. He and Sawyer spotted Holly and I as we waved and started over. As they went, a sheet of parchment fell out of Scorpius's bag and landed softly on the floor. A first year bent down and picked it up and then, seeing that Scorpius was incapable of accepting it back with his hands, awkwardly jammed it back into the bag.

I got up and ran to meet them. "Need help?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I made it all the way up from the dungeons like this. I can make it the ten feet to the table."

"That might actually be a problem," said Sawyer. He started to laugh. "Holly's got the whole table under her own control."

"What?" Scorpius peered out from behind his stack of books. "What am I supposed to do with all of these?"

Sawyer was laughing harder now. "I told you that you should've left most of them behind. Unless you're camping out here until exams actually start, I doubt you're going to need literally all of your books."

"Shut up. Don't laugh at my preparedness," said Scorpius.

I was trying not to smirk. "You're so prepared that you're unprepared."

"It's not my fault Holly took over the whole table before I could get here," said Scorpius. He staggered the last few feet to the table. "Hey, Holls, do you think you could give me at least a corner of the table?"

"And ruin the organizational system I just spent half an hour perfecting? Absolutely not."

Staring daggers at her, Scorpius dumped his books all over the table. Holly shrieked, causing me to wince as everyone in the vicinity looked up in anger. Uncharacteristically, Holly shrunk under the eyes of the stressed, studying students and lowered her voice to a whisper as she berated Scorpius.

"Do you know how long it took me to set that up?"

Scorpius snorted. "Oh, I don't know. It's not like you just told us it took half an hour or anything."

Holly faltered. "To set it up here, yes, but to write out all those charts? Hours and hours, Malfoy. And you've gone and crumpled them all up. They better be salvageable or St. Mungo's going to have a bed with your name on it."

Sawyer and I hung back, shaking our heads, as Scorpius, looking slightly sheepish, gathered his books back up as Holly fretted over the state of her Magic the Gathering cards.

"Well," he said. "It's certainly a lot more interesting with a fourth member of our little gang."

"Most definitely."

"I sort of wish I'd known back at the beginning of the year that this is what it would be like having Scorpius around," Sawyer admitted. "All my anger over you becoming friends with him seems really silly now."

"It wasn't," I said. "You had no way to know."

Sawyer shrugged.

"That's not true," I amended. "Maybe if you'd been serious about Divination...."

He laughed and hit me playfully. "We both know that that would never happen. Come on, let's help them clear the table. I've actually got some work to do."


	24. Hogwarts Express

Holly tackled me in a bear hug before I could even see her coming. One moment I was waiting quite calmly outside the dining hall for the others to arrive and the next there were blond curls in my mouth and strong arms trying to squeeze the life out of me.

"Guess who isn't a failure after all?"

"Um, I don't know," I said. I scratched my chin as though deep in thought. "Is it you?"

Holly grinned ecstatically and, releasing me, danced in a circle. The boys, walking at a more respectable pace, joined me in watching her.

"So she passed her classes?" I asked Sawyer.

"Yep," he said. "With flying colors in some of them, thanks to her organizational system."

I forced Holly to pause in her victory dancing long enough to hug her. "Congratulations, Holls. I knew you could do it."

She beamed. "My cards were all a bit bent after that stunt Scorpius pulled in the library" - here, she shot him a dirty look -  "and the cards that clumsy Sawyer managed to rip up" - Sawyer received his own version of the glare now - "but I made do and it really helped! I'm so pleased!"

"We're well aware," said Sawyer, watching as she restarted her dance routine. A group of younger students walked by, giving her bemused looks. "As is the rest of the school."

Scorpius nudged me as Holly shot death glares at the students watching her do her victory dance. "So, Dursley. Did all those tutoring sessions pay off?"

I gave him a huge smile. "Most definitely. I got an E," I said proudly.

He whooped. "If you continue improving at this rate, you could get an O in your N.E.W.T.s and be good enough to become an auror or something!" He threw an arm around my shoulders. "I always believed in you, Esther."

"Thanks for all your help," I said. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"Sure you could've, Ms. Auror."

I gave an exaggerated shudder. "Let me tell you, I am _not_ auror material."

"No? I'm pretty sure you could singlehandedly take down some dark witches and wizards. You would've easily broken Sullivan's nose."

I laughed. "I'm thinking more along the lines of working in potions or in medical magic. So I can easily _fix_ Sullivan's broken nose."

"Not that it'd deserve fixing," said Sawyer, pulling a face.

"As long as he learned his lesson, I would have no qualms about fixing him up."

Scorpius laughed. "That's because you're a such a _fair_ person, Esther. A model Hufflepuff."

I rolled my eyes. "It is my house," I said, "and there are worse things than being fair."

We were almost at the entrance to the dining hall when Scorpius grabbed my arm and held me back. We stopped walking and I gave him an inquisitive look.

"Esther? Can we talk later?"

"Of course," I said. "I'm always available to talk with you. But why later?"

He looked awkwardly at Sawyer and Holly, who had realized we were lingering behind and were waiting several feet ahead and then glanced back at me.

"I guess I want to talk in private. Can we meet where we did our Defense tutoring?" he asked. "After dinner?"

Noticing his discomfort, I squeezed his shoulder. "I'll see you there."

In the dining hall, we split up to sit at our respective tables. As soon as Scorpius had given us his usual half wave and headed to the Slytherin table, Sawyer raised his eyebrows at me.

"What was that about?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "I guess I'll find out after dinner."

I kept an eye on Scorpius throughout the meal. While Sawyer and Midha got into an argument over some controversial professional Quidditch matches - a conversation I would usually be entirely invested in - I watched as Scorpius ate at record breaking speed before bolting out of the dining hall. He usually left the room before Holly, Sawyer, and I finished, especially after what happened with our little revenge plot, but he was gone even before the desserts had been brought out.

Sawyer nudged me. "Pass the ice cream, please. And while you're at it, quit staring at the door and go find Scorpius already."

"Is that okay?" I asked. "I don't want to -"

"Go on. Something's clearly bothering him, and I can see that it's bothering you, too."

Gratefully, I rose from the table. "Thanks, Sawyer. I'll see you back in the dorms. Say goodnight to Holly for me."

"Will do."

I practically ran to the old classroom Scorpius and I used as our tutoring room. As I had predicted, he was already there, sat atop his usual desk with his legs propped up on the crossbar, his head in his hands.

I resumed my usual spot beside him. "Hey," I said.

He glanced up at me. "Hey. Sorry for being awkward back then, Esther, but I didn't really know how else to get this to happen. I don't know how to do this at all, I guess."

"You don't know how to do what?"

"I, uh, well. Let me start again." He was obviously flustered, his hair even messier than usual, his face bright red. He took a deep breath. "I promised myself that I would tell you before the summer, and this is clearly my last real chance to do that. I really left it until the last minute because, well, I'm nervous, Esther, about telling someone this."

I touched his arm lightly. "You can tell me anything, Scorpius. That's what I'm here for."

"I know, I know," he said, brushing my hand away. He was jittering, biting his lip and glancing back and forth between me and the window.

Finally he sighed loudly and put his hands on his knees, staring straight ahead.

"You remember before the Quidditch final? When I told you that I had my own reasons for getting rid of Sullivan and those other guys?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure you can extrapolate from there but for some reason I feel like I need to make myself say it out loud. I like torturing myself or something."

"Go on."

Scorpius wouldn't look me in the eye. "I'm gay."

I took his hand from his knee and held it, and he let me touch him this time. I squeezed his hand. He was shaking.

"You're the first person I've told."

"Really?" I asked. "I'm honored."

I give him time to take several shaky breaths. I rub my thumb over his to reassure him. He won't look me in the eyes.

"I...I just don't think I could've survived another summer without telling anyone," he said. "Literally nobody knows except you. Unless people suspect things, which they might. I don't know." Scorpius was holding my hand hard, his knuckles white. He gave a breathy laugh. "I like boys, Esther. I want to kiss boys."

I grinned and he gave me a shaky grin back.

"I hope I wasn't leading you on or anything, with our Defense lessons," he said. "I really like you, Esther, but obviously not like that."

"I really like you, too, Scorpius," I said, "but not like that."

We sat in silence for a few moments, just holding hands.

I cleared my throat after a while. "Holly might be disappointed, because she was convinced we would be dating by the end of the year. Even when I told her I wasn't interested, she was adamant."

Scorpius laughed. "Thanks, Esther."

"For what?"

"For listening and accepting me."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "You're going to write to me this summer, aren't you? Please say you will."

"Of course. Atalanta will have to fly back and forth constantly to deliver all the letters I'm going to write you. Three a day."

"Good," I said. "Don't send them directly to me, though. I forgot to tell you that at Christmas and there was a bit of an upheaval. There's a witch in town, Ms. Thompson, who receives all my mail, because Dad doesn't like owls."

"What about Pavo?"

"He's pretty much on house arrest for the summer."

Scorpius cringed. "No way to live."

The two of us paused after his words, realizing that what he had said was also applicable to me.

"Sorry, Esther."

"It's okay," I said. "Hugo's got a trick up his sleeve, or so he says."

"Those Weasley kids," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "A wily lot. You can always depend on them to fix the toughest of problems." He squeezed my hand once more before letting go and standing up. "We should probably head back if we're going to be good kids in bed at curfew. It would suck to get detention right at the end of the year."

I nodded. "As long as there's nothing else you want to talk about."

"I'm good," he said. "I don't think I could cope with revealing all of my major secrets in one night."

I grinned. "So there are more secrets?"

He laughed and put on a fake air of nonchalance. "Maybe, maybe not."

~~~

Before I knew it, I was back on the train ride home again. Pavo was retrieved from the Owlery and caged, all of my clothes and belongings were gathered from around the dorm and stuffed back in to my trunk.

The train lurched as I followed Sawyer down the train's corridor, with Holly and Scorpius lose behind. We peered into each compartment as we passed, trying to find an empty one or some friendly faces that we could sit with. Holly had made us late to board when she panicked that she had left her precious Magic the Gathering deck in her dorm and then, once we had backtracked, discovering it was actually in her trunk the entire time.

"Anybody in that one?" I asked Sawyer.

"About a thousand Slytherin first years."

Holly groaned behind me. "At this rate we're going to have to sit all the way at the very back of the train."

"It's not that bad," said Scorpius. "Just a little exercise."

"But I want to _sit_."

"You're incredibly lazy."

"Shut up, you two."

Then a redheaded boy burst out of the compartment behind me, grabbing my arm and making me jump.

"Hugo! What was that for!"

He laughed. "Sorry to scare you, Esther. Here, come sit with us. I've got to explain my evil plan to you anyway."

Hugo disappeared back into his compartment without waiting for a response. When I glanced at the other three, they all shrugged, so I followed him in. Cassie waved from her seat by the window and patted the spot beside me. I sat down and the others filed in.

"Hello, Esther," said Rose. She smiled at me.

"Hello," I said, smiling back. "Glad to be going home?"

"Yes," she said. "I always am, but I'll be glad to return in September, too. What about you? Glad to be going home?"

My face fell, and it must've been noticeable because Albus reached across the compartment to give his cousin an angry poke. Rose waved his hand away and gave me a smirk.

"Yes, I do know what I said, Al," she said. "I'm only teasing."

"I know," I said. I perked back up again. "Hugo has some kind of a solution? His evil plan, as he just called it."

Hugo nodded. "That I do. It's truly maniacal, I assure you."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Get to it already."

"Be patient, I'm building up the suspense like any good storyteller would. Now, without further ado, my plan." Hugo turned to me. "We're going to convince your parents to let you come stay with us over the summer."

I was at a loss for words for a moment. Then I spluttered, "Huh? How are you going to manage that?"

"My dad," said Albus.

Lily, by far the quietest of the Potter-Weasley children, frowned at that from her seat in the corner. "My dad, too."

"Well, yes. Our dad."

Holly was clapping her hands together in excitement already, but I raised a hand to stop her. "Do you think that would work?" I asked. "Why would your dad want to help me?"

"What do you mean? Your his niece, Esther," said Rose, "and he grew up in a very similar situation to yours."

I thought on that. "I guess."

Scorpius was nodding. "She's right, it works out. Harry - or should I call him Mr. Potter? - would have reason to sympathize with you! He was raised in a muggle family and never got to fully experience the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts until he was older."

"Not true," said Hugo. "He visited my dad during the summer. Which is where I got the idea to invite you to stay." He looked excitedly to me. "What do you think, Esther? You wouldn't have to spend the whole summer with us, of course. Half at home with your parents, half with us."

"I love it," I said, "and I hope that it works more than anything."

The whole compartment let out a cheer. I laughed. Then conversation burst out all at once.

"- must take her to a professional Quidditch game."

"Yeah! She's never been, after all, and I think there's one -"

"-do chores because her muggle ones are probably a lot more mundane, right? Shut up, Albus, of course I'm not saying that just to get her to do mine. Why would you even -"

"We'll _finally_ have another keeper for our scrimmage matches, which means -"

"-and school supply shopping! That'll be fun."

I sat there and listened, somehow excluded in a torrent of conversation revolving around me, and smiled.

~~~

"As soon as you get an update about when you're joining us in the wizarding world again, send me a letter," said Holly, clinging to me fiercely.

"I'm going to write you nonstop," I said. "Don't worry about it."

She pulled me in for one last suffocating embrace before releasing me and flinging herself on Scorpius instead. He was a bit taken aback by it, but didn't resist. Holly's parents waited patiently by the column a few feet away. Sawyer, who had already endured his goodbye hug from Holly, stood beside me, standing on his tiptoes to easier search the crowd for his dads.

"Any sign of them?" I asked.

"Not yet. I wonder if they've forgotten like they did last year."

I smiled. "I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"I certainly hope so."

"Esther!"

I turned around in time to avoid being unexpectedly grabbed by Hugo again. The rest of his family followed closely behind.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Albus just spoke to his dad," he said.

"Oh? And?"

Hugo gestured behind him. "See for yourself."

Harry Potter himself, my uncle and somewhat of my hero, waved and came over to us. I tried not to look too much like a deer in the headlights.

"Hello, Esther," he said. "Are your parents not here yet?"

"If they are, I can't find them in the crowd," I said.

"Albus and his cousins have been explaining how they want to invite you over to our house for part of this summer. Is that something you're interested in?"

I nodded. "Yes, if you'd have me."

"Of course," he said, smiling. "You're always welcome at our house, Esther. I'm terribly sorry that that wasn't made clear to you sooner."

I beamed. "Thank you."

Harry smiled back. "There's no need to worry about any of it. I'll talk to your parents. I'm sure they'll be very understanding."

"I hope so," I said. I gave Albus, Hugo, and Rose the biggest, most enthusiastic thank you smiles I could muster.

Scorpius clapped a hand on my shoulder. "That's official then," he said. "I'm going to write you a thousand letters a day while you're in the muggle world, and once you're in the wizarding world I'll worm my way into the Potter household, too. You won't be able to get rid of me."

I gave his head a playful shove. "Good," I said. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Sawyer tapped my shoulder. "I can see your parents, Essie. Oh, yes! My dads actually made it somewhat on time. I can see them, too.

I excused myself and pushed through the crowd towards where Sawyer had directed me. My parents looked out of place among the wizards and witches, as usual, but they had definitely improved in assimilating over the years of picking me up and dropping me off.

"Mum! Dad!" I threw my arms around them. I think for the first time, I felt purely happy to see them, rather than bittersweet.

"Hello, Esther."

My mum kissed my forehead. "Did you have a good term, sweetheart? And are your friends around? I would love to say hello."

I couldn't stop smiling. "It was a _great_ term. Now come on, we have to fetch my stuff and there are a bunch of people who are going to want to talk to you. Boy, do I have a lot to tell you about!"


	25. Epilogue

Pavo screeched indignantly as I came into my room, staggering under the bulk of my laundry basket. I dumped it onto my bed - neatly, as to not disturb the carefully folded clothes inside - and tossed Pavo a treat to calm him down.

"You haven't got much longer to wait," I told him, "until you're not going to be stuck in that cage at all." And, I added in my head, I wouldn't be stuck in mine, either.

Calling my existence in the muggle world a cage wasn't exactly fair, though. I still had friends from my primary school days who were happy to invite me on their day trips into London or to go see a movie at the local theatre. I got to catch up on all the muggle culture I had missed during the school year, too. I spent a bit too much time in front of the television during my first week or so back home, marathoning Doctor Who and whatever else.

Still, that didn't mean I wasn't excited. Because I most definitely was.

"Esther?"

My mum poked her head through the door.

"Yes, Mum?"

"What time did they say they would arrive?"

I didn't need to pull out the latest letter from the pile of parchment on my desk in order to tell her. I had practically memorized it. Thankfully it had been Rose that wrote out the logistical details and not Hugo, or I never would have been able to decipher it.

"Three o'clock," I said.

"Do you think I should run down to the shop to pick up some Ribena? Maybe some biscuits?"

"I don't know how long they're going to stay."

"You're right, of course." My mum waved the concern away and turned to leave, but her face revealed her nerves. I called her back.

"I think Ribena would be great," I said. "I'm sure they'll at least stay for a cup of tea."

My mother nodded, glad for something to do. "I'll go down the shop then. You don't need any help packing, do you? Or need me to pick up anything more for you to take?"

I shook my head. "Thanks, Mum."

She disappeared and after a few minutes, I heard the front door open and close as she left for the shop. I grinned at Pavo.

"They're going to be here soon," I said. I had been saying it out loud as much as possible, because saying things aloud tended to make them feel more real. Part of me was still worried that I had imagined the whole thing, that in twenty minutes they wouldn't show up, that they wouldn't take me back to stay with them for the remainder of the summer holidays.

"Today," I told Pavo, "they're going to pick me up. Although I'm staying with the Weasleys, it's my uncle Harry that's going to pick me up, so he can talk with my parents. I'm going to share Rose's room. On Saturday, Scorpius is going to visit and we're going to play a lot of Quidditch. We're going to a match together, and Holly and Sawyer are going to meet us there. We're going to meet Mum and Dad in London again to do school shopping, so they can see me again before I go off to school."

I plopped on to my bed next to my laundry basket and laid back so I was staring at the ceiling. I took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling.

"My name is Esther Dursley," I said to the ceiling, "and I'm a muggleborn witch." I paused for a long time. "I'm going to find a way to not have to choose between being both a muggle and a witch."

Saying things out loud makes them true.

~~~

I had been somewhat worried that the Potters would arrive via broomstick, landing on our roof without warning. Or that they'd tumble out of the fireplace, having used floo powder, or would apparate straight into our living room. Or, worst of all, they wouldn't come at all.

They knocked on the front door.

I could hear my mum welcoming them and was already halfway down the steps before she could call for me. I had remained in my room even as three o'clock grew closer, not wanting to seem too desperate to leave.

Rose and Albus stood with Harry in the hallway. With my mum shaking Harry's hand, me being pulled into a hug by Albus, and my dad emerging from the kitchen, we were soon packed almost too tightly to move. We spent a minute working our way back out. Dad stepped back into the kitchen and my mum flattened herself against the wall in order to slide behind Rose and follow him. The rest of us spilled into the kitchen after her.

"I'll put the kettle on," said Mum. "You will stay for a cup of tea, won't you?"

Harry took a seat across from Dad at the kitchen table. "Yes, thank you."

"Help yourselves to the Ribena and biscuits."

Albus immediately took advantage; he went for a handful of cookies but when his dad gave him a disapproving look, replaced half of them. As soon as Harry wasn't looking, however, he snuck three more off the plate, putting them directly into his mouth. He poured himself a massive glass of Ribena next. I laughed.

"It's good to see you guys again," I told him and Rose.

"You too!" Rose said. "I'm so excited to have you come and stay. I've been making lists of everything we should do to make sure you get the full experience. Games you may not be familiar with, food, places to see, that kind of thing. And Hugo's been brushing up on his skills so he can pretend as though he's been practicing for the whole summer."

I grinned. "I won't tell him you told me."

"Teddy's going to be around in a couple of days," Albus said, "so our Quidditch matches are going to get intense."

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

Albus nodded. "Have you spoken to Scorpius recently? His last letter to me was just a list of activities. He and Rose should get together and compile their ideas."

Rose rolled her eyes. "We're all just excited to show Esther the ropes, that's all."

"Yeah, but so am I, but you don't see me going around creating obsessively detailed lists."

"Is it going to be a bit of a shock, do you think?" Rose asked me. "You know, going from being the only child to being in a house that's overrun with loads."

Harry turned to add to our conversation. "Half the kids that are in and out of the place don't even live there."

"It's as though we've got two homes," said Albus.

"I don't mind being the only child," I said, making sure my mother could hear, "but I think I'll enjoy having a lot of others around for a change."

"Um, Albus," said my dad.

We turned to look at him.

"Congratulations," he said. "Esther told me all about your victory in the Quidditch cup at school."

"Oh," said Albus, nodding. "Thank you."

My father nodded back, but he wasn't done. "I'm sure there won't be a repeat of that this year. Esther had only just taken over the team. She had to adjust to leading and having a new team."

I felt my draw drop slightly. When I was younger and playing football for the local children's league, my dad had trash talked to no end. He had never done so for Quidditch. But then again, maybe that was only because he had never been given the chance.

Harry didn't miss a beat. "Well, we'll have to see about that. The Gryffindor squad is going to be strong this year. A team of veteran players."

"I'll admit that I don't know much about Quidditch," said Dad, meeting my eyes across the table, "but I definitely know my daughter. She's the one to beat."

~~~

The conversation flowed with ease from then on. My mother asked endless questions things that would've been embarrassing if Rose wasn't so eager to answer them all. Albus and I spoke about Quidditch and my dad managed to make some remarks on the topic from what I'd told him in past years. And then, before I knew it, the tea had been drunk and it was time to leave.

We congregated outside for our goodbyes, as we had learned that there wasn't much room in the hallway when the Potters had arrived.

Dad clapped me on the back and kissed my forehead. "We'll see you soon, Esther." He faltered for a minute, watching the Potters nervously, and I gave him time. "Get lots of practice on that broomstick of yours," he said. "You're going to need it to lead your team to victory this year."

I beamed. He knew perfectly well that Albus was one of my competitors during the school year. I gave him a huge hug. "I will, don't worry."

I turned to Mum.

"Have fun," she said.

"I will, Mum."

"Not too much fun."

I squeezed her hard. "You don't have to worry, Mum. No matter how much I love being a witch, I'm always going to love being a Muggle, too."

"I know, darling." When I pulled away, she ruffled my hair.

"Don't miss me too much."

"Oh, by this point I'm used to having you gone," she said. "Just not during the summer."

I stepped back from her and moved towards where Rose and Albus were waiting with my trunk, Pavo's cage tucked under Rose's arm. She poked a treat through the bars and Pavo hooted happily.

Back on the front steps, I watched my dad extend a hand towards Harry. I found myself slightly surprised, and overwhelmingly proud, that it had been him to initiate the handshake, rather than the other way around. I watched my dad's hand clasp Harry's and the two of them nodded to each other as they shook. Besides me, Albus seemed similarly still as he watched this unfold.

I turned to look at him. When my cousin gave his slightly crooked grin, pushing the messy hair he inherited from his father out of his face, I smiled back. Our fathers' hands separated. There wasn't a hint of antagonism between us.


End file.
